“I Survived by Playing Dead”: Survivor Recounts Massacre in Hoyasari, Buthidaung

Arakan Now | 18 September 2025

On May 2, 2024, residents of Hoyasari, also known as Htan Shauk Kan, experienced a deadly incident that left hundreds affected. Rahamat Ullah, a survivor from the village, shared his firsthand account with Arakan Now.

The Incident

Rahamat Ullah, who was with his parents at the time, said villagers were taken west of Hoyasari, in the area between Kin Daung and the BTD road. He recalled that the villagers were made to sit for some time in silence.

“They ordered us to bow, and we complied,” Rahamat Ullah said. “Then a voice shouted something like, ‘Kill them all.’ People around me were terrified. After that, three shots were fired into the air.”

Explosions followed from hand grenades and machine gun fire. Rahamat Ullah did not see the flames but felt the impact of the blasts.

How He Survived

Rahamat Ullah described his survival: “I was sitting beside my mother and my younger brother, a little apart from my father. My father had left with some of my other siblings. My mother was in front, my younger brother in the middle, and I was behind them. When shots were fired, my mother was hit. She had a white towel. She bled heavily, and my brother was also struck. I was half-conscious but realized I had to hide. I took my mother’s towel, soaked it in her blood, wrapped it around myself, and lay still as if I were dead. That is how I survived.”

Casualties

Out of nine immediate family members, only Rahamat Ullah and one brother survived. Counting extended family members, around 75 relatives were killed. Rahamat Ullah estimates that over 660 residents of Hoyasari lost their lives during the incident.

“I was there. I saw it with my own eyes,” he said.

Eyewitness Testimony

Rahamat Ullah’s account provides a rare first-hand perspective of the events in Hoyasari. Documentation of these experiences is essential for understanding what occurred and remembering those affected.