Home Equality & Justice Rights group calls for ICC probe into alleged Arakan Army war crimes...

Rights group calls for ICC probe into alleged Arakan Army war crimes in Myanmar

Fortify Rights has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate war crimes allegedly committed by the Arakan Army (AA) in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. 

Leaked video footage analyzed by the organization shows the extrajudicial execution and torture of two captives, possibly Myanmar junta soldiers, in what it described as a clear violation of international humanitarian law.

“Torturing and summarily executing civilians or captured enemy soldiers are war crimes,” said Ejaz Min Khant, Human Rights Associate at Fortify Rights. 



Khant said that enemy soldiers who are captured must be treated with dignity as prisoners of war, in accordance with the protections outlined in the Geneva Conventions, and that those accountable for committing war crimes against detainees must face prosecution.

The graphic videos, which surfaced online in December 2024 and January 2025, depict AA soldiers and civilians armed with firearms and machetes torturing the captives before violently executing them near a shallow pit. 

According to Fortify Rights, the victims appeared unlikely to have survived the brutal attack.

The footage shows perpetrators wearing AA uniforms and speaking native Rakhine. One man in the video can be heard ordering, “Hey, start slaughtering. Move them near the pit.” Another voice taunted, “Don’t kill them at once, kill them one by one, slaughter them by cutting their throats. … Good, good, keep doing it like that.”

- Newsletter -

The organization also noted that the dialogue in the videos implicates a senior AA commander in the orders for the killings. A perpetrator stated, “He [the Battalion Commander] gave us these people to do this.”

The AA, a major revolutionary force in Myanmar, has previously pledged to uphold justice for war crimes. 

In December 2024, AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha assured that the group would “systematically and thoroughly investigate” such allegations, emphasizing their commitment to due process. 

However, this incident and others suggest a pattern of atrocities, including the massacre of over 100 Rohingya civilians in August 2024, which the AA has publicly denied.

Fortify Rights emphasized the need for accountability, urging the ICC and its member states to act. “These types of atrocity crimes will continue as long as impunity prevails,” said Min Khant. 

“ICC member states should act now and refer the situation to the court, sending a message to all warring parties that atrocity crimes will be prosecuted and punished according to international law,” Khant added.

ICC’s Role and Legal Precedent

The ICC currently holds jurisdiction over crimes tied to the forced deportation of Rohingya civilians into Bangladesh in 2017. 

Fortify Rights argues that the ICC should extend its focus to cover the ongoing atrocities committed by all armed groups in Myanmar. 

The National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG) has already submitted a declaration recognizing the ICC’s jurisdiction under the Rome Statute.

International law, including Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, explicitly prohibits torture, summary executions, and other atrocities. 

Violations of these laws constitute war crimes, with accountability mechanisms necessary to end cycles of violence in Myanmar’s protracted conflict.

Fortify Rights called on all parties to cooperate with international justice mechanisms and ensure accountability for war crimes. 

The ICC has yet to comment publicly on whether it will pursue an investigation into the AA’s alleged actions.

© Copyright LiCAS.news. All rights reserved. Republication of this article without express permission from LiCAS.news is strictly prohibited. For republication rights, please contact us at: [email protected]

Support Our Mission

We work tirelessly each day to tell the stories of those living on the fringe of society in Asia and how the Church in all its forms - be it lay, religious or priests - carries out its mission to support those in need, the neglected and the voiceless.
We need your help to continue our work each day. Make a difference and donate today.

Latest