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Case Number

20241125GI

Case Date of Filing

25/11/2024

Suspected/Known Time of Incident

Local Time and Date: 2am, 02/05/2019

 

GMT/Zulu Time and Date: 8pm, 01/05/2019

Case Researcher(s)

Rebecca Gill

Summary

On the morning of 2nd May, Myanmar army soldiers shot and killed at least six villagers from among around 275 who had been rounded up and detained in Kyauk Tan, Rathedaung township, on the morning of April 30th for suspected links to the Arakan Army, an ethnic Rakhine armed group.

 

Men and boys between the ages of 15 and 50 were rounded up in the local schoolhouse for two days of interrogation, allegedly being denied food and water. The military said that some of the detainees attacked the soldiers in an attempt to take their weapons, and that shots were fired only after other measures failed. Injured detainees reported that soldiers began shooting into the group after one detainee - which some reports say was a man known to have a mental illness - started yelling and ran off. After the shooting, around 300 armed soldiers showed up at the school, preventing aid workers and family members from providing support and first aid to the injured or retrieving the bodies.

 

At least eight villagers were injured in the shooting. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Myanmar Red Cross were eventually allowed to transfer the injured to Sittwe General Hospital and Rathedaung Township Hospital. The military announced it released 126 hostages from the school compound on the morning of 3rd May, and 48 more on 6th May, while about 80 remained in custody and were allegedly released over the next week

Case Location

Village school

 

Latitude/Longitude (WGS84):

20.593611, 92.752778

 

Town/Region/Country:

Kyauk Tan village, Rathedaung township, Rahkine state, Myanmar.

 

Individual Incident Locations:

Potential location 1

20°35'45"N 92°45'20"E

The Buddhist temple - one report said the bodies were given an informal burial (denied buddhist funeral rites) at the cemetery - hard to see because of the trees, but possibly here.

 

Potential location 2

20°35'33"N 92°45'16"E

A site to the south east of the school, next to farmland that had been burned prior to the incident. On Google earth in 2020 an oblong hole appears next to some other forms (not recognisable) this is gone again on dates afterward.

 

Potential location 3

20°35'33"N 92°45'26"E

A site to the southeast of the school, past the burned farmland. Appears in 2018 and shows rows of square/oblong holes.

 

Case Location Evidence Below:

  • Shot from a 2020 article here showing the incident area. The article discusses how from March 2020 the village became a site of intentional destruction and violence. The dark patches of land are burnt farmland. Purple square shows the approximate location of potential location 2 while potential location 3 is visible adjacent to the farmland on the right, across the road. The school is visible top left, with the big blue building - one that was added between 14/04/2019 and 10/01/2020.

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This image from Google Earth shows the temple, labelled.

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Screenshot from this article

Casualties

Total Suspected/Known Number of Casualties:

07

 

Injured:

08

 

Fatalities in Incident:

06

 

Fatalities in Grave:

06

 

Further Casualty Information:

Age Range: 15 to 50 years old.

Genders: Males

Ethnicity/ies: ethnic Rakhine

 

Casualty Evidence Below:

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One of the injured pictured en route to Sittwe hospital.

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Image of detainees in front of school from X.

Suspected or Known Aggressors

Group/Tribe/Militia/Organisation:

Myanmar military

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Suspected/Known Quantity of Participants:

Around 200 soldiers

 

Aggressor Evidence Below:

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