⏵ Stories of Property Destruction and Burning On November 13, 2023, ‘renewed fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army ended a year-long unofficial ceasefire in Rakhine State.’ In this renewed fighting, the armed ethnic force has started gaining significant territorial gains. Since January 2024, both forces have attacked each other in Rohingya villages, particularly in South Buthidaung township. According to local residents, Rohingya groups, and the media other than civilian killings, it has also resulted in destruction of Rohingya properties. However, In May 2024, the violence against the Rohingya population in Myanmar’s Rakhine State reached its highest levels. Among many burning incidents reported, the most disturbing incident was the assault on the village of Ward No. 2 in Buthidaung township. The testimonies of Rohingya survivors from Buthidaung, Maungdaw, and surrounding villages expose a systematic destruction perpetrated by the AA. However, the AA has been categorically denying its responsibility for the most widely publicised acts of violence targeting the Rohingya villages, properties and their houses in May during the AA’s military campaign to seize Buthidaung township. But we also know that, seeing or hearing about brutal acts of the AA, many groups, international organizations and human rights activists, stated that the fighting forces should prioritize civilian safety and avoid unnecessary destruction. For instance, Shayna Bauchner, Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch also reported that the force must “minimize civilian casualties and destruction of homes and property.” For most of the reports, statements, as particularly mentioned by the Human Rights Watch in its news release, published in early 2024, that the conflict has the potential to bring "Rohingyas and their places again at risk that were once devastated by military atrocities in 2017.’ This denial by the group from taking any sort of responsibility was in response to the documented reports, press briefings, newspaper stories, and statements of various human rights organizations who accused them of making numerous attacks. Many Rohingya men in their testimonies revealed to us the armed groups brutality during its attacks on their villages in Buthidaung township in May 2024. However, the signs of the AA brutality were seen in a way before the May atrocities of the Buthidaung. The ethnic armed group actually entered the area in January 71