Buthidaung residents state that junta forces had retreated from the town by 15 May. Around 6:30 P.M, 17 May, Rohingya elders met with Arakha Army soldiers in a nearby village.[1] There, the soldiers instructed residents to evacuate immediately. Locals refused, stating that they had nowhere else to go.[2] Arakha Army forces entered the town hours later.
Burning
At 9:30 P.M, a local reported that northern Buthidaung residents began to flee their homes, “warning us that the AA were coming and burning houses.” At around 10 P.M, 17 May, residents reported that Arakha Army soldiers began setting fire to buildings in Buthidaung using petrol-soaked sticks. Starting with the southern area of the town, fires were set encircling the town. After local Rohingya attempted to shelter in the town's hospital, the hospital was also set alight. Many Rohingya fled either north towards the Bangladesh–Myanmar border, or west to the junta controlled town of Maungdaw, many of the latter grouping near the Buthidaung prison. The fleeing civilians were stopped by Arakha Army soldiers, who fired into the air, triggering a crowd crush.[1] Fleeing Rohingya were also harassed and extorted.[3] Eventually, up to 200,000 Rohingyas were displaced due to the fires,[2] many without food or medicine. Many others sought safety in central Buthidaung, seeking shelter in any available spaces.[4]
Reactions
Yanghee Lee, the former UN special rapporteur on Myanmar and founder of SAC-M, stated that “There are credible reports that Rohingya in Buthidaung have been targeted in attacks by the AA. There is a very real risk that these attacks could escalate further.”[4] James Rodehaver, head of the U.N. office on human rights for Myanmar, told Reuters that “every indication” from his organisation's interviews with residents suggested the Arakan Army was responsible.[1] The Arakha Army denied that they had any role in the towns's burning, claiming that a Tatmadaw airstrike had caused the fire and accusing the local Rohingya population of being “saboteurs” and “selfish”.[4]
