DPRI Report: BGP Personnel and Rakhine Extremists, Not ARSA, Killed More Than 50 Hindus in Kha Maung Seik on August 25, 2017

A detailed report by the Department of Public Relations and Information challenges allegations that ARSA was responsible for the killing of Hindu civilians in Kha Maung Seik village tract on August 25, 2017. Based on survivor testimonies, local accounts and documentary evidence, the report attributes the killings to Border Guard Police personnel and Rakhine extremist groups, including the 969 organisation, and accuses the Arakan Army of continuing to spread what it describes as a false narrative against the Rohingya.

Photo Source: DPRI

KHA MAUNG SEIK Village, Arakan State, On the morning of August 25, 2017, the same day that Myanmar's military launched its genocidal clearance operations across northern Arakan State, more than 50 Hindu civilians and more than 12 Rohingya Muslims were killed in Kha Maung Seik village tract in Maungdaw Township. For years, the killings were attributed to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. A detailed report by the Department of Public Relations and Information now challenges that attribution directly, presenting survivor testimonies, local accounts, and documentary evidence pointing to Border Guard Police personnel and Rakhine extremist groups as the perpetrators.

The report, titled "Kha Maung Seik Hindu Massacre: False Allegations Against ARSA," places the incident within the broader history of Rohingya persecution and challenges what it describes as a propaganda campaign that falsely assigned responsibility for the killings to ARSA and the wider Rohingya community.

Decades of Persecution Before 2017

The DPRI report begins by situating the Kha Maung Seik killings within a history of violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar dating back to 1942. According to the report, more than 200,000 Rohingya remained internally displaced inside Myanmar at the time of the 2017 violence, while more than one million had been displaced to neighbouring countries including Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia. Those confined to internally displaced persons camps faced severe restrictions on movement, access to their villages, and the ability to return to their homes.

On June 3, 2012, according to the report, armed ethnic Rakhines killed ten Rohingya Muslim members of Tablighi Jamaat while they were travelling by bus from Sittwe toward Yangon. On June 10, armed ethnic Rakhines attacked the Nazi Quarter of Sittwe, resulting in destroyed homes, deaths, and the displacement of Rohingya residents. The report describes Rakhine attackers as backed by the Myanmar military and presents the 2012 violence as part of a longer campaign of persecution, violence and ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya, resulting in thousands killed, displaced or dying while attempting to escape by sea.

The report states that ARSA was formed in 2016 by ordinary members of the Rohingya community, following decades of persecution and systematic abuses, with the stated objectives of defending Rohingya communities, seeking justice and rights, and obtaining freedom and recognition for the Rohingya people.

Hindu and Rohingya Communities: A History of Coexistence

Before describing the killings, the report documents the historical relationship between Hindu and Rohingya communities in northern Arakan State. It argues that the two communities historically lived close to one another and maintained regular social and economic relationships across areas including Kha Maung Seik, Shwe Zar, and Wards 4 and 5 of Maungdaw Township.

According to the report, Hindu community members worked closely with Rohingya communities in occupations such as goldsmithing and barbering, creating frequent contact and mutual economic dependence that extended into personal and family life.

The report cites the testimony of Situ Rudra, a Hindu woman who lived in Kyein Chaung village until 2017. She recalled close relationships with Rohingya neighbours, saying they supported her during pregnancy and later helped her family escape to Bangladesh during the 2017 violence. She reportedly maintained friendly relationships with Rohingya people living in refugee camps in Bangladesh even after displacement.

The report also describes the testimony of a Hindu goldsmith and businessman from Kyein Chaung whose family had worked with Rohingya communities for four generations. He travelled regularly to northern parts of Kha Maung Seik for business while Rohingya customers visited his shop, and continued working alongside Rohingya refugees after displacement to Bangladesh. He is quoted as saying that both groups were human beings living under the same sky and on the same earth, and rejected hatred and propaganda between the two communities.

The Attack: August 25, 2017

The DPRI report describes the events of August 25, 2017 in precise detail.

According to the report, fighting between ARSA and the Myanmar military began around midnight on August 25 and continued until approximately 3:00 a.m. Following the fighting, Myanmar military forces organised themselves together with Rakhine extremist elements, including what the report describes as the "969" Rakhine group.

DPRI describes the 969 group as a Rakhine extremist organisation, saying some of its members were of Bangladeshi origin and based in Bandarban, near the Myanmar border, and that the group had participated in previous episodes of violence and persecution against Rohingya communities, particularly in 2012.

At around 8:30 a.m., according to the report, BGP personnel and Rakhine extremist groups, including members of the 969 group, left the area around the Tula Toli village temple. They were not wearing official uniforms. They allegedly travelled toward Kha Maung Seik carrying firearms, knives, rods and other weapons, and entered Hindu and Rohingya homes.

Rebukkha Hindu Village, which had approximately nine houses and more than ten families, and South Hindu Village, which had more than eleven houses and more than fourteen families, were the principal locations of the attack. Together, the two villages had more than 100 residents, including men, women, children and people with disabilities.

According to DPRI, BGP personnel and Rakhine extremist members attacked Hindu communities together with Rohingya civilians. The attackers rounded up men, women and children, robbed them, tied them up, blindfolded them and took them toward a nearby creek. The report alleges that BGP and 969 members killed more than 50 Hindu civilians using knives and firearms, including men, women and children under 18, as well as more than 12 Rohingya Muslims during the same attack. Only 19 people survived: 3 men, 8 women and 8 children. According to survivor accounts cited in the report, women were subjected to rape as a condition for being spared. Local Rohingya residents later discovered the survivors and helped transport them toward Bangladesh.

Survivor Testimonies

Babul Malik, 55, Survivor

Babul Malik, a survivor from Rebukkha Hindu Village, told DPRI that his family consisted of 14 people including himself. On the morning of August 25, despite his wife's concerns about heavy gunfire and burning Rohingya homes, he left the house. Outside the village he says he saw more than ten BGP personnel, approximately 20 Rakhine extremist members, and individuals carrying firearms, long swords, knives and rods. He says the group entered the village while he hid himself. Approximately 20 minutes later, he heard people crying. The attackers remained in the village for nearly three hours. After they left, he returned and found his family members dead, some shot, others killed with knives. He says he lost his entire family, including his grandchildren. Local Rohingya residents later brought him to Bangladesh.

Babul also described an incident that occurred several months later when media representatives visited his shelter and interviewed him about the killings. According to his testimony, he told them what he had personally witnessed, but says they attempted to pressure him to describe events according to their preferred version. He says he refused. He further claims they offered him a substantial amount of Bangladeshi taka, which he also rejected. "I believed I would eventually die and have to answer to my family in the hereafter," he said, "so I did not want to accept money in exchange for changing my account."

Simanta Dar, 32, Survivor

Simanta Dar, a resident of Rebukkha Village, told DPRI that on August 25 he heard that villagers had been killed and that ARSA was being blamed. He says it was BGP personnel spreading this claim throughout the village. Two days later, he attempted to return to Kha Maung Seik but says BGP personnel and Rakhine extremists initially prevented him from entering, citing security concerns. He eventually found a way inside.

Simanta says he spoke with an eight-year-old boy named Shik Dar who had escaped from the village. According to the report, the child said he had been lying on his bed when BGP personnel and Rakhine extremists entered his house. The child said his mother and brother were shot. He said attackers took gold chains and rings from his sister and cut her neck with a sword. The child said he had hidden under the bed, and had not eaten for three days except water. The testimony describes his difficulty drinking because the water was mixed with blood, and says that seeing his sister's face reflected in the water reminded him of what had happened. Simanta says he took the child to his village, collected whatever belongings they could carry and began travelling toward Bangladesh. According to his account, they reached Bangladesh after three days of walking.

Minabala Rudra, 31, Survivor

Minabala Rudra's testimony focuses on the killings of her family members. She says that 969 Rakhine extremists killed the men. According to her account, the women were told not to look at the attackers. She says the attackers had knives, spades and iron rods. She and others hid in shrubs but were able to see part of what was happening. She says her uncle, her father and her brother were all killed. According to her testimony, after killing the men, the attackers also killed women.

Shonin Shudra, 28, Survivor

Shonin Shudra, a survivor from Kha Maung Seik, told DPRI that she had never imagined that such an event could happen. She referred to the previous good relationship between the Hindu community and Buddhists and noted that BGP personnel had been stationed in the area. She questioned why the attackers had targeted them. She says she lost everything, including her house and property.

False Attribution and the Role of Propaganda

The report's central argument is that the Kha Maung Seik killings were falsely attributed to ARSA and the Rohingya community.

DPRI says that Amnesty International, along with some media organisations and human rights groups, attributed the killings to ARSA, and rejects that attribution entirely. It argues that survivor accounts, local testimony and evidence collected by DPRI point instead to BGP personnel and Rakhine extremist groups. The report also states that independent investigative mechanisms, including the UN Fact-Finding Mission, contradicted the attribution to ARSA.

The report describes a later visit to Kha Maung Seik by a Myanmar military delegation accompanied by journalists and media representatives, during which more than 40 human remains were discovered. The military claimed these remains belonged to Hindu victims. DPRI disputes that identification, stating that its evidence indicates the remains were actually Rohingya civilians from Tula Tuli who had been killed by the Myanmar military and the 969 group.

The report also refers to a Frontier Media House interview with a woman who repeated what DPRI describes as the military's narrative. DPRI claims the woman was later found to not be from Kha Maung Seik but from Sittwe Township, with no relatives in Kha Maung Seik, and questions whether she had any firsthand knowledge of the killings. The report further states that despite claims made during the military delegation's visit, the military eventually admitted to the media that it had found no concrete evidence or documentation connecting ARSA or the Rohingya community to the killings.

The report cites the interview conducted by Frontier with Brigadier General Aung Ye Win, described as director of the Myanmar military's Public Relations and Psychological Warfare Department, in which he reportedly stated that when asked whether the military had found evidence that it was responsible for the killings, he said no such evidence had been found. He also indicated that the military was certain that ARSA had not killed the Hindu civilians.

Rohingya Saved Hindu Lives

The report includes the testimony of a Hindu community member from Kha Maung Seik who arrived in Bangladesh in 2017. When asked whether Rohingya people had harassed or harmed them, the person said the Rohingya had instead brought them to Bangladesh and saved their lives from the conflict. The person identified Rakhine extremist groups as responsible for violence against both Hindu and Rohingya communities, alleging that the 969 group and BGP killed husbands and family members because they refused to go with them.

The report also refers to coverage by TRT of the 2017 Rohingya crisis in which a Hindu woman described how Rohingya residents helped her community reach safety in Bangladesh. She said Rohingya people saved Hindu lives during the crisis, criticised rumours against Rohingya people, and said that Hindu and Rohingya communities had lived together since the time of their ancestors. She described their shared villages and said she believed Rakhine extremists did not want Hindus and Rohingya to continue living together peacefully.

The Arakan Army's Role in Spreading False Narratives

The report's final section focuses on what it describes as the Arakan Army's continuation of the Myanmar military's earlier propaganda strategy.

DPRI accuses the AA of using Hindu individuals from different townships to repeat allegations against Rohingya people through media platforms including Western News, Narinjara, Development Media Group, Border News Agency, Arakan Bay News and Arakan Princess Media. The report describes these interviews as part of a propaganda campaign intended to portray Rohingya people as responsible for violence against Hindus, arguing that such narratives increase hostility between the two communities and create greater pressure on Rohingya people who remain in Arakan State.

The report alleges that the AA's broader objective is to remove the Rohingya from Arakan State, and that the Hindu massacre narrative serves that objective by turning international and regional opinion against the Rohingya community.

Conclusion

The DPRI report calls for independent investigation into the Kha Maung Seik killings based on survivor testimony and verifiable evidence, rather than on narratives promoted by armed actors with political interests in their acceptance.

It argues that Hindu victims deserve justice, that their deaths must be investigated independently, and that responsibility must be determined through evidence. It equally argues that the Rohingya community must not be collectively blamed for killings that survivor testimony, local accounts and the absence of any confirmed independent finding consistently attribute to BGP personnel and Rakhine extremist groups.

This article is based on the DPRI Report titled "Kha Maung Seik Hindu Massacre: False Allegations Against ARSA." Allegations against named groups and individuals are attributed to DPRI and to the survivor testimonies cited within the report.