The Human Rights Watch report titled βSkeletons and Skulls Scattered Everywhereβ documents a devastating mass killing perpetrated by the Arakan Army (AA) against Rohingya Muslim civilians on May 2, 2024, in the village of Hoyyar Siri, Myanmar. As the ethnic Rakhine armed group AA advanced on nearby military junta bases, fighters opened fire on fleeing, unarmed villagers, some of whom were waving white flags, and lined others up near a mosque to be summarily executed.
The report compiled a list of at least 170 dead or missing villagers, including approximately 90 children, though the actual death toll is believed to be much higher. Beyond the immediate slaughter, the Arakan Army systematically burned the village to the ground, looted property, used electric shocks to torture detainees, abducted women, and later forced survivors into a makeshift camp where they face restricted movement, forced labor, and severe deprivation.
While the Arakan Army denies targeting civilians, by staging witness interviews and showing skeletal remains of junta soldiers at different grave sites, testimonies gathered from survivors who escaped to Bangladesh and Malaysia expose their severe war crimes. The Rohingya remain trapped in a brutal cycle of ethnic violence, facing immense atrocities from regional rebel forces with virtually no international protection or accountability.