The 2nd Genocide of the Rohingya – The Diplomat

A second wave of genocide in Myanmar’s Rakhine State has once again placed the Rohingya population at grave risk.

An uptick in fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and Myanmar’s military, part of a broader conflict stoked by the military coup of 2021, has been particularly devastating for the Rohingya people, who are targeted by both sides. The violence against Rohingya communities has been marked by indiscriminate shelling, aerial bombings, village burnings, and direct assaults on civilian populations – particularly in northern townships such as Maungdaw, Buthidaung, and Rathedaung. Entire villages have been forcibly uprooted. Rohingya civilians have been killed, burned alive, or shot while attempting to flee. 

The scale of destruction is alarming. More than 1,000 Rohingya have been killed, countless others injured, and thousands remain missing. Numerous villages have been entirely destroyed. Survivors report that both the AA and the Myanmar military have taken part in efforts to forcibly displace Rohingya communities from their ancestral lands.

This ongoing campaign of genocide is not isolated. It is part of a broader, long-standing pattern of persecution, statelessness, and exclusion faced by the Rohingya people that has persisted over decades. A brutal offensive by Myanmar’s military in 2017 – which involved mass rapes, killings, and the burning of Rohingya villages – forced nearly 1 million Rohingya people to flee from Myanmar to Bangladesh, where they continue to live in overcrowded and underresourced refugee camps.

The latest surge in violence likewise involved a new wave of displacement. These newly arrived refugees now face severe shortages of shelter, food, clean water, and medical care. Many suffer from untreated injuries, trauma, and malnutrition. Sanitation conditions are poor, and access to education and mental health services is extremely limited.

The situation has created a deepening humanitarian crisis and raised alarm across human rights and humanitarian organizations, which are calling for urgent international intervention. The continued impunity of perpetrators and the absence of durable solutions leave the Rohingya in a state of extreme vulnerability – both inside Myanmar and in exile.

Editor’s note: The photos contained below are at times graphic and disturbing. We are publishing them in the interest of providing a full accounting of the suffering of the Rohingya people. The most graphic are in scroll-through galleries so that readers can decide for themselves whether to view the images.

Like many in the community, Noor Kalim, a 55-year-old Rohingya man, has endured years of violence and hardship. In 2012, he lost his leg after being shot by Myanmar’s military. Despite this life-altering injury, he continued to support his family under increasingly difficult conditions.

In the summer of 2024, Noor Kalim was severely injured again – in the same leg – during an attack allegedly carried out by the AA. At the time, he was attempting to cross the border with his wife and two daughters in search of safety.

He now relies on a plastic leg. Movement is extremely difficult, and his physical limitations place immense strain on the entire family, who depend on him for survival. 

Many of the recent arrivals in the refugee camps in Bangladesh share similar stories of attacks by the AA, often drone strikes. Noor Kamal, a Rohingya person living with a disability, suffered an unimaginable loss during one such drone attack on August 5, 2024. 

While attempting to flee to Bangladesh in search of safety, Noor lost his two young children, Faruk and Shobik, along with his mother, Ayesha, in the assault that took place along the riverbank.

“We never imagined that my children and mother would die in such a horrific way – struck by a drone attack carried out by the Arakan Army,” Noor Kamal said. “To this day, we cannot forget them. We don’t even know where they are buried, as their bodies were left floating in the river. I saw them one last time when I looked back. Their images haunt us in our sleep. Physically, we are here, but our souls remain with those we lost.

“As a disabled person, I had no hope of making it to safety. It was only through my wife’s strength and support that we managed to reach Bangladesh. Now, it is just the three of us: my wife, my remaining child, and myself. We have lost everything.”

Abdul Haque too tragically lost his young son in a drone strike allegedly carried out by the AA on August 17, 2024, in Maungdaw. His daughter, Noor Shahera, sustained injuries from the same attack.

“My son was a beautiful child – full of life and laughter. It is unimaginable that he could be taken from us in such a horrific way,” Abdul Haque recalled. “We still cannot believe that a drone attack by the Arakan Army ended his life.

“His presence brought joy to our home; he always made us laugh. Even now, we dream about him at night. Though we are alive, it feels like our souls remain with him. We have lost everything. All we have left is a single photo of him on our phone.”

Shahid Ullah, a 23-year-old Rohingya man, sustained a severe injury to his left hand in a drone strike on August 25, 2024 in Maungdaw, which he also blames on the AA. The attack left him in critical condition, and he was initially unable to access medical treatment. However, with the support of his relatives, he was eventually able to see a doctor and receive the necessary care, giving him renewed hope for survival.

The stories are all too common. Kasar Bibi, 17, also suffered serious injuries in heavy mortar shelling by the AA on August 8, 2024, in Maungdaw. The wounds continued to bother her weeks later, after her arrival in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Shahed, 22, was shot in the arm by the AA in Maungdaw. 

Md Tawki, a 13-year-old Rohingya boy, was seriously injured by heavy mortar shelling reportedly fired by the AA targeting a group gathered on the riverbank on August 20, 2024. At the time, the boy was attempting to cross the border to find safety in Bangladesh.

Noor Shahera, an 11-year-old Rohingya girl, was seriously injured in a drone strike reportedly carried out by the Myanmar military junta in Maungdaw. With no doctors or medicine available in the Rohingya villages, she fled to Bangladesh, where she received limited treatment from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). However, she has yet to fully recover from her injuries.

Like Noor Shahera, many Rohingya who recently fled to Bangladesh after being seriously injured by gunfire and drone strikes are now suffering without adequate shelter, food, clothing, or healthcare.

**Warning: The second image in the gallery below contains a graphic photo of Noor Shahera’s injury immediately after the drone strike.

Maryam, a 20-year-old Rohingya woman, also endured profound loss and trauma during a recent attack allegedly carried out by the AA.

“During the assault by the Arakan Army, I lost everything. My beloved husband and both of my parents were killed. My two siblings were abducted, and their whereabouts remain unknown. I managed to escape with only my two-year-old child,” she shared. 

“Now, I feel as though I have nothing left to lose. Sometimes, I think it would have been more honorable if we had all died together. The pain of surviving alone with my child, after losing my entire family, is unbearable. I carry this sorrow every day.”

Ayub Khan, a Rohingya genocide survivor from Itlia village, and his family – including his wife and four children – attempted flee to Bangladesh to escape the targeted violence being carried out by both the AA and Myanmar military junta. Tragically, on August 6, three of his children lost their lives when their boat capsized in the Naf River. 

Ayub Khan, his wife, and one remaining child were the only ones to survive.

He recalled the harrowing events: 

The night of August 6 was incredibly difficult. We started our journey with a small boat from our village, hoping to reach Bangladesh for safety and survival. We had to pay the boatmen 20,000 taka per person, which I arranged through my relatives. Unfortunately, in the middle of the Naf River, the boat’s floor broke, and there was no one nearby to rescue us. We screamed for assistance, but no one was there. After a few minutes, the boat sank, and I lost three of my children. 

I survived, but I don’t know how my remaining daughter and wife made it through. Sometimes, I wish we had all perished together. It would have been an honor for us to die together rather than losing three of my own children in one night, in front of my eyes.

Despite the tragedy, Ayub Khan, along with his wife and surviving daughter, managed to reach Bangladesh. However, upon arrival, they were pushed back by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). Undeterred, Ayub Khan and his family started another journey with a small boat, paying 20,000 taka to the boatmen once again, eventually reaching Bangladesh safely. 

Many more did not survive – and no one is left to tell their stories. In August 2024, dead bodies began appearing in the Naf River, from which they were recovered by a group of local residents and Rohingya refugees. According to eyewitnesses on the ground, the victims appeared to have been killed in a drone attack – though no one can say whether it was carried out by the Arakan Army or the Myanmar military junta.

Those who were identified by their relatives were buried in the camp graveyard. The bodies that remained unidentified were buried along the riverbank. Corpses continued being spotted in the river through late September.

Among the dead were the small bodies of children.

*Warning: The photos in the gallery below contain graphic images of dead bodies, including those of children.* 

The Rohingya who made it to Bangladesh continue to face dire circumstances. Refugees remain in a vulnerable position, lacking essential support that is urgently needed for survival. In the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Rohingya are suffering without food, shelter, healthcare, and other basic necessities.

All the refugees interviewed for this story reported facing daily challenges, with limited resources and no stable support. Even the most basic of survival needs – clean water – is hard to come by. 

Denied access to education due to a lack of documentation, newly arrived Rohingya refugee children face an especially uncertain future. “We tell our children to go to school, but they are not accepted because they don’t have documents like smart cards and data cards provided by UNHCR,” one parent said, fearing their children’s dreams are slipping away.

Still, they carry on as best they can. Newly arrived Rohingya refugees quickly start building their own makeshift tarpaulin shelters in a Bangladesh camp – a powerful glimpse of survival and strength amid displacement.

“We deserve to live with dignity, just like any other human being,” Ayub Khan emphasized. “We urgently urge the international community to act without delay and provide us with the critical support we desperately need.”

More than that, though, they demand that the world pay attention to their suffering – and bring justice for the victims of these atrocities. The current crisis demands not only an emergency humanitarian response but also sustained efforts toward justice, accountability, and the restoration of rights for the Rohingya population.