Rohingya To Mark Eight Years Since Genocide in Arakan

Arakan Now | 24 August 2025

Tomorrow, the Rohingya will marks eight years since Myanmar’s military launched a brutal campaign of mass killings, sexual violence, and village burnings against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine State, forcing more than 700,000 people to flee into Bangladesh.

What began on 25 August 2017 as so-called “clearance operations” in response to attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) quickly turned into one of the worst humanitarian crises of the 21st century. Survivors recall soldiers torching entire villages, executing men and boys, and committing widespread sexual violence against women and girls.

“I saw my neighbours killed in front of me. Our homes were burning, and we had no choice but to run,” said Abdul Rahim, a refugee now living in Kutupalong camp in Cox’s Bazar. “Eight years have passed, but justice has not come.”

Another survivor, 35-year-old Fatima Khatun, described how soldiers stormed her village at dawn. “They dragged my husband out of the house and shot him. They took my sister away, and we never saw her again. My youngest child burned alive when they set fire to our home,” she said, breaking into tears. Similar testimonies echo across the refugee camps: mothers speak of children lost in fires, while elders recall streets littered with bodies as they fled.

The United Nations described the military’s actions as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” Within weeks, nearly three-quarters of a million Rohingya crossed into Bangladesh, joining earlier waves of refugees from previous crackdowns. Today, more than one million Rohingya live in sprawling camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Inside Arakan, the Rohingya population has dwindled further as many fled again amid intensified clashes between the Arakan Army and the military since late 2023. Those who remain face severe restrictions, confined to camps or villages with little access to food, healthcare, or education.

For the Rohingya, the future remains uncertain. Bangladesh has repeatedly called for repatriation, but refugees insist they cannot return without guarantees of citizenship, protection, and fundamental rights. Meanwhile, declining international aid threatens the fragile humanitarian response in Cox’s Bazar.

As the Rohingya mark the eighth anniversary of the genocide, their message is clear: remembrance must be matched with justice and action.