• Burmese
Friday, June 20, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
25 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Dozens of Hindus Killed in Maungdaw: Relatives

Nyein Nyein by Nyein Nyein
September 5, 2017
in Burma
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Hindu villagers take shelter at a temple in Buthidaung Township’s Myoma Ward. / Hindu Youth Relief Group / Supplied

Hindu villagers take shelter at a temple in Buthidaung Township’s Myoma Ward. / Hindu Youth Relief Group / Supplied

15.7k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

SITTWE, Rakhine State – Eight-year-old Muni is one of the sole survivors in her Hindu family, after eight of her relatives were reportedly killed by Muslim militants one week ago in Kha Mauk Seik village, some 40 miles from downtown Maungdaw, in northern Rakhine State.

The girl had left her family to work in the home of a friend, Mina Kumari, also in Maungdaw Township, six months earlier.

Through an interpreter, Muni told The Irrawaddy on Sunday a statement that was echoed by other relatives and a Hindu community leader in Bangladesh—that she had heard her parents, grandmother, newborn brother, sisters and brothers-in-law had been killed.

RelatedPosts

Civilians in Need as Arakan Army Advances on Kyaukphyu

Civilians in Need as Arakan Army Advances on Kyaukphyu

June 11, 2025
3.4k
AA Kills Myanmar Junta General near Kyaukphyu

AA Kills Myanmar Junta General near Kyaukphyu

May 30, 2025
4.4k
Bangladesh Recalls Ambassador to Myanmar

Bangladesh Recalls Ambassador to Myanmar

May 29, 2025
2.5k

One of her elder sisters is among eight women who said they were initially abducted by militants from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), but now sheltering at a relief camp in Bangladesh’s Kutupalong District. Following ARSA attacks on 30 police outposts on Aug. 25, the Myanmar government declared the group a terrorist organization.

According to aid workers, Bangladesh is also now hosting some 87,000 self-identifying Rohingya Muslim refugees who have fled northern Rakhine State since the Myanmar Army began renewed clearance operations in Maungdaw following the ARSA attacks.

They join hundreds of thousands of Muslim refugees already in the region, displaced after an earlier round of attacks in 2016.

An additional 11,700 Buddhist Arakanese, Arakanese subgroups, and Hindus have been internally displaced, with many taking shelter in monasteries in the state capital of Sittwe, and Ponnagyun and Kyauktaw townships.

Bangladesh’s The Daily Star reported on Sept. 1, that around 400 Hindus had left Rakhine State for Bangladesh and were staying at makeshift camp in Kutupalong, alongside displaced Muslims.

More than 500 Hindus are also taking refuge at four temples in Sittwe, partially supported by a government relief team, according to community leaders in Sittwe.

The Daily Star said that the displaced villagers estimated that more than 80 members of their communities in Rakhine State had been killed by unidentified armed men.

As journalists are barred from the conflict zone, The Irrawaddy spoke to religious leaders and relatives of the deceased in Sittwe.

Villagers who arrived in Sittwe on Sunday told The Irrawaddy that they believed around 70 residents of three communities—Kha Mauk Seik Taung Ywar, Kha Mauk Seik Yebaw Kyar, and Ohtein (also known as as Fakirabazar, Riktapara, and Chikonchhari respectively)—had been killed.

“The news about Kha Mauk Seik was heard on Saturday, and they are so desperate. They have no family members left to take care for them,” said U Maung Hla, the vice chairman of the Rakhine State Hindu Council, referring to 8-year-old Muni and another girl—16-year-old, Kajali, who told The Irrawaddy that since she left Maungdaw four months ago, she had lost nine relatives.

Mina Kumari, with whom Muni is living, told The Irrawaddy that she had lost her son in the violence, but had made contact with her daughter-in-law and Muni’s sister now in Bangladesh.

“My daughter-in-law could not speak properly on the phone, she was crying a lot and was very afraid,” said Mina Kumari.

Mina Kumari said that her daughter-in-law explained over the phone that she had been forced to undergo a conversion to Islam with seven other women, and that she and her three children avoided being murdered after she gave one of the gunmen her gold earrings.

The Irrawaddy was unable to interview the victims directly on the phone, as they said they were too afraid to speak to the media, in either Burmese, Arakanese or Hindi languages.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy through an interpreter and on the condition of anonymity, a leader from the Hindu temple in Dakshin Nihla in Bangladesh said that the eight women in question—including Mina Kumari’s daughter-in-law—were brought to the temple by Bangladeshi border police.

He estimated 470 Hindus had fled to Bangladesh.

He alleged that the women were filmed by members of the ARSA and told to say they feared attacks from ethnic Arakanese and the Myanmar security forces.

A sister-in-law of one of the survivors of the Hindu villages watched the video and told The Irrawaddy: “I know these women, two are from Buthidaung two are from Maungdaw.”

It should be noted, however, that widely documented testimony has been given by refugees to international media outlets, human rights organizations, and the UN since Myanmar Army clearance operations from October 2016 to February 2017 following the Oct. 9, 2016 attacks, describing the perpetration of abuses by security forces ranging from torture to rape to arson and extrajudicial killings.

Government figures report that since Aug. 25, 15 members of Myanmar’s military and police have been killed and 14 civilians—including seven Rakhine Hindus, three Daingnet, and four Arakanese.

The government states that 370 suspected militants had been killed since Aug. 25, but these figures do not address the deaths of Muslim civilians, who make up the largest displaced group.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: ConflictInternally Displaced PeopleRakhine StateReligion
Nyein Nyein

Nyein Nyein

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Three Rebel Army Chiefs Predict Rapid Fall of Myanmar Junta
Burma

Three Rebel Army Chiefs Predict Rapid Fall of Myanmar Junta

by The Irrawaddy
August 18, 2023
26.9k

Powerful armed groups in Karen, Kachin and Kayah states say the regime is ready to topple.

Read moreDetails
Interview

Myanmar’s Junta And Its Military Face Annihilation, Arakan Army Says

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 25, 2023
22.5k

The current war in Myanmar differs from past conflicts in the country because ethnic armies are no longer on the...

Read moreDetails
In Western Myanmar, an Ethnic Landlord is Poised to Liberate ‘Crony Beach’
Burma

In Western Myanmar, an Ethnic Landlord is Poised to Liberate ‘Crony Beach’

by The Irrawaddy
June 25, 2024
15.8k

After capturing Thandwe Airport, the Arakan Army is just steps away from Myanmar’s most valuable beach and the crony-owned resorts...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta ‘Sweetens Deal’ For China in US$ 8 Billion SEZ And Port in Rakhine State
Myanmar-China Watch

Myanmar Junta ‘Sweetens Deal’ For China in US$ 8 Billion SEZ And Port in Rakhine State

by The Irrawaddy
December 27, 2023
14.8k

Business analysts say the concession contract was likely tweaked to offer better terms for China’s state-owned firm CITIC, which has...

Read moreDetails
Arakan Army Seizes Major Myanmar Junta Base on Bangladesh Border
Burma

Arakan Army Seizes Major Myanmar Junta Base on Bangladesh Border

by Hein Htoo Zan
May 4, 2024
13.4k

The fall of the Kyee Kan Pyin Border Guard Police headquarters exposes Maungdaw to AA attacks.

Read moreDetails
Arakan Army Steps Up War Against Junta in Myanmar’s Rakhine State With Attack on Naval Base
Burma

Arakan Army Steps Up War Against Junta in Myanmar’s Rakhine State With Attack on Naval Base

by Hein Htoo Zan
January 9, 2024
13k

Ethnic army attacks naval base in southern township, after seizing more outposts in the north. On Monday, it admitted coordinating...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Gold items on sale in a shop in Yangon. / The Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s First Gold Exchange Center Takes Shape in Yangon

U Maw Lin, vice-chair of the Association of Myanmar Architects (AMA), discusses its Bagan Architecture Inventory at a press conference on September 5, 2017. / Chan Son / The Irrawaddy

New Inventory Reveals Nearly 4,000 Ancient Monuments in Bagan

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Myanmar Tourism Sector Mocks Junta’s Russia Tourist Drive

Myanmar Tourism Sector Mocks Junta’s Russia Tourist Drive

1 week ago
1.8k
Untested Commander Takes Charge as Myanmar Military Faces Toughest Challenge in Decades

Untested Commander Takes Charge as Myanmar Military Faces Toughest Challenge in Decades

1 week ago
1.8k

Most Read

  • Myanmar’s Aging Leaders Continue to Suffer in Junta Jails

    Myanmar’s Aging Leaders Continue to Suffer in Junta Jails

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trade and Traffic from Thai Border Region Dwindle as Checkpoints Multiply

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Mon Groups Vow to Boost Attacks on Myanmar junta

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Thai PM Faces Growing Calls to Quit in Cambodia Phone Row

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.