I. Executive Summary

April 2026 marked one of the darkest and most devastating periods for the Rohingya people in Arakan State, Myanmar. Throughout this month, Rohingya communities endured an unprecedented intensification of violence, persecution, and systematic oppression as armed conflict between the Myanmar Military Junta and the Arakan Army (AA) escalated across Northern Rakhine State.

Caught between two brutal forces, Rohingya civilians continue to suffer atrocities that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. This reporting period documented widespread patterns of extrajudicial killings, brutal beheadings, torture, arbitrary detention, forced labor, systematic extortion, property confiscation, and forced displacement primarily in territories controlled by the Arakan Army while the Myanmar Military continued indiscriminate airstrikes and bombardments against civilian populations.

Evidence collected by Action Against Rohingya Atrocities (AARA) strongly indicates that the Arakan Army is increasingly implementing policies of ethnic persecution, subjugation, and structural violence against the Rohingya population. Through exploitative systems of “human taxation,” forced labor, economic strangulation, and terror campaigns, the AA is contributing to the continued destruction of Rohingya existence in their ancestral homeland.

At the same time, the Myanmar Military’s aerial assaults on civilian areas demonstrate a blatant disregard for international humanitarian law, resulting in death, injury, and mass displacement.

The Rohingya people are now facing a double-layered persecution, victimized by both the military junta and ethnic armed actors, placing them at extraordinary risk of further genocide, displacement, and humanitarian collapse.

II. Documented Atrocities and Human Rights Violations

1. Extrajudicial Killings and Brutal Executions

April witnessed a horrifying surge in gruesome killings, disappearances, and executions allegedly committed by the Arakan Army.

Beheadings in Maungdaw

On March 26, two Rohingya fishermen Daw La Ya (24) and Mamat Salam (23) were abducted by Arakan Army personnel while fishing near Maungdaw Township. On April 1, their decapitated bodies were discovered abandoned in an open field near Thu Oo La village.

Torture and Execution

On March 27, Mohammad Younes (19) and Mohammad Salam (22) were detained by AA troops near Thayet Oak Village. Their bodies were recovered on April 1 during low tide, bearing severe signs of torture, including bound hands, gagged mouths, and visible physical trauma.

Intimidation and Coercion of Families

Following these murders, AA forces reportedly exhumed bodies from Rohingya cemeteries and threatened grieving families, coercing them into falsely attributing responsibility to rival armed groups such as ARSA. This tactic reflects systematic intimidation and psychological terror.

These acts constitute serious violations of international human rights law, including the right to life, protection from torture, and freedom from enforced disappearance.

2. Forced Labor and Modern Slavery

The Arakan Army has institutionalized forced labor practices across Rohingya villages under its control.

Infrastructure and Military Projects

In early April, the AA ordered at least 50 men from each Rohingya village in Area 6 to participate in the forced repair of the Kyi Kan Pyin–Ga Khu Ya Road.

Inhumane Working Conditions

Victims were compelled to:

• Provide their own food and drinking water
• Break rocks for road construction
• Dig military bunkers
• Perform physically exhausting labor under threat of punishment

Those unable to comply due to illness, age, or financial hardship were forced to pay a 50,000 Kyat exemption fee. Failure to pay often resulted in verbal abuse, beatings, or further punitive measures.

These practices represent modern slavery and violate international conventions prohibiting forced labor.

3. Systematic Extortion and “Human Taxation”

The AA has expanded economic exploitation into a systematic campaign targeting Rohingya survival.

Human Tax on Escape

Rohingya civilians fleeing violence in Buthidaung and other conflict zones are being charged between 800,000 and 1,000,000 Kyat per person at AA checkpoints to transit through Maungdaw toward Bangladesh.

Property and Religious Suppression

Additional taxes include:

• Monthly house taxes ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 Kyat
• Cattle slaughter permits costing approximately 400,000 Kyat per cow

These predatory fees not only impoverish vulnerable families but also directly interfere with religious practices such as Eid al-Adha (Kurbani), undermining both economic and cultural survival.

4. Indiscriminate Airstrikes by Myanmar Military

The Myanmar Military continues to perpetrate indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations.

Mass Bombings in Minbya Township

Between April 8–9, military aircraft dropped over 50 bombs on the Pearl Taung area of Minbya Township, causing numerous civilian casualties and severe destruction.

Coordinated Air Assaults

On April 19, simultaneous military airstrikes targeted:

• Ponnagyun
• Mrauk-U
• Kyauktaw

These attacks damaged civilian infrastructure, including historical buildings and power facilities, triggering widespread fires, injuries, and displacement.

Such bombardments may constitute war crimes under international humanitarian law.

III. Humanitarian Crisis and Displacement

The humanitarian crisis facing Rohingya communities has reached catastrophic levels.

Famine and Starvation in Sittwe

Approximately 600,000 Rohingya in Sittwe remain trapped under severe movement restrictions while reductions in World Food Program (WFP) support have intensified hunger and malnutrition.

Landmine Casualties

Both the Myanmar Military and Arakan Army have planted landmines in civilian-access areas, causing devastating injuries:

• A 25-year-old man in Balukhali lost his leg
• A 45-year-old man in Sittwe suffered limb amputation

These incidents continue to terrorize civilians seeking food, water, or livelihood.

Water and Public Health Crisis

In Maungdaw Township, water shortages and failing infrastructure have left many communities without access to safe drinking water, disproportionately impacting:

• Children
• Elderly persons
• Pregnant women

This has increased the risk of disease outbreaks, dehydration, and preventable deaths.

IV. Formal Appeals for International Action

Action Against Rohingya Atrocities (AARA) urgently calls upon the international community to take immediate, decisive action.

To the International Criminal Court (ICC)

We formally urge the Office of the Prosecutor to expand its investigation into Myanmar to include crimes committed by the Arakan Army, including:

• Beheadings
• Forced labor
• Massacres
• Crimes against humanity

Failure to hold all perpetrators accountable risks enabling a new cycle of genocide.

To the International Court of Justice (ICJ)

In the case of The Gambia v. Myanmar, we respectfully request the Court to recognize the emerging role of additional armed actors contributing to the destruction of the Rohingya population, particularly the Arakan Army.

We call for strengthened provisional measures to protect Rohingya civilians from all perpetrators.

To U.N. Member States and Global Actors

1. Targeted Sanctions

Impose immediate sanctions on Arakan Army leadership, military commanders, and affiliated economic networks.

2. Global Arms Embargo

Strengthen international restrictions on weapons, military supplies, and aviation fuel to:

• Myanmar Military Junta
• Arakan Army
• Any armed groups committing atrocities

3. Humanitarian Access

Demand unrestricted humanitarian access throughout all areas of Rakhine State, particularly AA-controlled territories where Rohingya communities remain under extreme oppression.

V. Conclusion

The Rohingya people are facing an existential crisis under a double-edged system of violence.

They are not only enduring the longstanding genocidal policies of the Myanmar Military but are now increasingly subjected to persecution, exploitation, and terror by the Arakan Army.

The promise of justice, human rights, and “Never Again” cannot remain empty rhetoric.

If the international community continues to delay meaningful intervention, accountability, and protection, history will once again witness the preventable destruction of one of the world’s most persecuted peoples.

The future of the Rohingya people and the credibility of international justice depends on urgent action now.

End of the Report