“We Spoke at the Border With Rohingyas Fleeing Genocide”

By Rohingya Political Journalist Saiful Arakani.

Border Region, more than one lakh of Rohingya civilians have fled northern Rakhine State since early 2024, seeking safety after what they describe as a new and coordinated wave of genocide carried out by the Arakan Army (AA) and Myanmar’s military junta. When our reporting team arrived at the border, we met families who had walked for days through jungle and farmland to escape the escalating violence.

Many reached the border barefoot and dehydrated, carrying children, elderly parents, and the few belongings they could save. Their faces bore deep exhaustion and fear. Their testimonies paint a devastating picture of a community once again targeted for destruction.

Survivors said the attacks sharply intensified around 05 August 2024, when AA forces allegedly launched coordinated assaults on Rohingya-majority villages. Multiple witnesses reported that homes were set ablaze, civilians were fired upon as they ran, and explosives landed in residential areas without warning.

“They came to burn, to kill, to erase us,” said Abdul Karim, 42, who fled with his wife and three children.“When our house caught fire, we ran. They shot at us as we escaped.”

Refugees described seeing neighbors collapse under gunfire. Others recalled entire rows of houses erupting into flames within minutes. Many believe the operations were intentionally planned to drive out the remaining Rohingya population once and for all.

Rohingya elders said August was deliberately chosen, noting that armed groups have historically escalated operations during the monsoon season, when communities are most vulnerable. This year, however, they said the attacks were far more aggressive and systematically focused on Rohingya communities.

“They waited for August,” said Amina, who lost her husband in the assault.

“They always attack us during this time, but this time was different, it was genocide.”

Homes Destroyed, Families Torn Apart, At makeshift border shelters, families shared similar stories: Entire villages burned within hours,Children separated from parents amid gunfire and drone strikes. Elderly people unable to escape left behind in burning homes

Midnight raids forcing families to flee into forests, Some refugees displayed burn scars, shrapnel wounds, and hastily bandaged limbs. Several children were visibly traumatized.

Aid workers at the border said the number of new arrivals has sharply increased over the past year. Most are women and children who made perilous journeys through mountains, rivers, and dense forest. Many went days without food or clean drinking water.

“The situation is far worse than we saw earlier this year,” said a humanitarian volunteer.

“People are arriving with severe trauma. Many witnessed executions or the destruction of their communities.”

Human rights organizations have condemned the attacks and called for urgent international investigations. Experts say the patterns described, systematic killings, forced displacement, destruction of homes, and the targeted persecution of an ethnic minority—fit the definition of genocide under the UN Genocide Convention.

The Rohingya Cultural Advocacy Centre, operating at the border, pleaded for immediate global intervention. “We are dying again. We need the world to see us,” said one community elder. “How many times must we flee before someone stops this?”

As of publication, neither the Arakan Army nor Myanmar’s military junta has responded to the allegations of mass atrocities. Both sides have previously denied targeting civilians.

“We Cannot Go Back, They Will Kill Us”

By nightfall, more Rohingya families continued to arrive. Their feet were swollen, their clothes soaked from river crossings. Many said they had no destination, only the hope of safety somewhere beyond the border.“We do not know where to go,” said a father carrying his injured son “But we cannot go back. They will kill us.”

The flow of refugees shows no sign of slowing, raising fears that the crisis could become one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the year.