BROUK Urges Argentine Court to Include Arakan Army Atrocities in Rohingya Genocide Case

Arakan Now | September 3, 2025

The Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) has petitioned Argentina’s Federal Court in Buenos Aires to expand its landmark universal jurisdiction case on the Rohingya genocide to include atrocity crimes committed by the Arakan Army (AA).

In a filing submitted today, BROUK requested arrest warrants for AA Commander-in-Chief Major General Twan Mrat Naing, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Brigadier General Nyo Twan Awng, and others in the group’s chain of command.

The AA, an ethnic Rakhine armed group that controls much of Rakhine State and is fighting Myanmar’s military, has been accused of mass killings, torture, sexual violence, and forced starvation targeting Rohingya civilians. BROUK says these abuses intensified sharply in 2025.

A report published by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, on August 29 documented widespread AA atrocities. One of the deadliest incidents occurred on May 2, 2024, when AA fighters allegedly massacred hundreds of Rohingya in Htan Shauk Khan village (Hoinya Seeri), Buthidaung Township. Survivors described being rounded up in paddy fields and shot at close range. One witness recalled a “river of blood,” while another recounted losing 20 relatives, including three children.

The rights group Fortify Rights has also reported a pattern of Rohingya men being tortured and “disappeared” in AA-run detention centers. Aid agencies warn that Rohingya communities are increasingly facing starvation, worsened by Myanmar military restrictions on humanitarian access.

“These atrocities amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya, who have already endured decades of state-sponsored genocide,” said Tun Khin, BROUK’s president. “The Arakan Army, as a non-state actor, has the same responsibility as the Myanmar military to refrain from committing crimes against humanity and genocide.”

The Argentine case—filed by BROUK in 2019 and opened in 2021—has already led to arrest warrants for 25 Myanmar military officials accused of orchestrating genocide against Rohingya. BROUK’s new filing includes testimony from five witnesses and additional evidence of AA atrocities.

“We wanted to unite with the Rakhine and other ethnic groups against our common enemy, the Myanmar military,” Tun Khin said. “Instead, the Arakan Army has inflicted the same horrific crimes on us. We are bringing this case out of frustration and desperation to stop further atrocities.”

BROUK emphasized that AA’s crimes cannot be separated from Myanmar’s wider campaign of persecution against the Rohingya.

“The Rohingya in Rakhine State are on the brink of extinction,” Tun Khin warned. “As the international community remains silent and politically paralysed, we need international justice efforts now more than ever.”