A/HRC/60/20 Consistent with identified patterns, the military responded to the territorial losses with aerial, naval and ground attacks, primarily against ethnic Rakhine and Rohingya civilians. Among numerous episodes of retaliation, on 29 May 2024, the military entered Byaing Phyu village, Sittwe Township, rounding up Rakhine civilians whom they suspected of aiding the Arakan Army and killing some 80 people. In addition, they arrested around 300 people and displaced civilians from over 20 surrounding villages. By September 2024, over 240 of those detainees had been sentenced to prison terms under the Unlawful Association Act. As the military lost ground, it also increasingly resorted to aerial attacks against civilians in southern Rakhine State. On 8 January 2025, air strikes on Ramree Island killed at least 26 civilians, including 12 women and 7 children in Kwak Ni Maw village, which is mostly inhabited by ethnic Kaman. Satellite images confirmed that 362 buildings had been destroyed in the attack. Responding to OHCHR, the military confirmed its attack, claiming that the “aircraft observed fire flashes from the target area’s building, confirming the presence of military activity”. 36. In northern Rakhine State, the Rohingya continued to suffer many human rights violations and abuses, some of which were reminiscent of the 2017 atrocities. Both the military and the Arakan Army reportedly carried out air and artillery strikes, resulting in the killing of civilians and the destruction of civilian objects, and killings, enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment, arbitrary deprivation of liberty and the damage and destruction, looting and occupation of civilian property, in addition to the forced recruitment of Rohingya. While conflict-related violence affecting the Rohingya has decreased in 2025, the Arakan Army has reportedly perpetrated numerous abuses and violations against the Rohingya with impunity. Conduct by Rohingya armed groups, including the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, have heightened protection concerns and contributed to widespread fear and further displacement. 37. Pervasive restrictions and surveillance on communications imposed by both parties, including Internet shutdowns and the seizure of mobile phones, hampered deeper investigation into violations and abuses in Rakhine State. As a result, no verifiable figures or estimates of civilian casualties or displacement could be compiled during the reporting period. Claims were received of over 1,000 Rohingya that may have been killed and tens of thousands forced to flee their homes. Rohingya civilians, particularly, were caught between positions of the Arakan Army and of the military, whose forces had included deployments of Rohingya recruits since March 2024. That intentionally and necessarily exacerbated intercommunal tensions and fuelled further violence. Since 12 April 2024, the military have burned hundreds of ethnic Rakhine homes in Buthidaung town, including in Ward 6, and deployed conscripted Rohingya in those operations. As Rakhine-owned homes burned in Buthidaung, the Arakan Army burned surrounding Rohingya villages, with as many as 25 villages burned in the following weeks. 15 In an incident still under investigation, on 15 April 2024 in Buthidaung, the offices and pharmacy of Médecins Sans Frontières were burned along with all medical stock, further depriving people of essential medical services after the closure of hospitals in Maungdaw and Buthidaung. 16 The availability and accessibility of healthcare services continued to decline, with numerous reports received of preventable deaths of children and displaced persons due to the absence of basic services and assistance. 38. Displacement reportedly increased significantly, with Rohingya leaving their homes ahead of clashes or because of targeted violence by the Arakan Army, whose fighters threatened or attacked those who refused to leave, leading to further casualties. According to the United Nations, 350,000 Rohingya in Rakhine State and Paletwa Township, Chin State, have been displaced since the resumption of conflict in November 2023,17 although the real number is believed to be significantly higher. Survivors have faced repeated displacement, moving from village to village, in a desperate search for safety. As humanitarian assistance has been severely limited, survivors have been left to rely exclusively on the support of other Rohingya families. 15 See https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/they-left-a-trail-of-ash-decoding-the-arakan-armys-arsonattacks-in-the-rohingya-heartland. 16 See https://www.msf.org/msf-office-destroyed-fire-amid-ongoing-violence-rakhine-myanmar. 17 See https://reliefweb.int/report/myanmar/myanmar-humanitarian-update-no-45-28-march-2025. 8