Ywet Nyo Taung Village Tract, Buthidaung Township
On May 2, 2024, at least 22 Rohingya residents from Ywet Nyo Taung Village Tract were reportedly killed during a mass killing in Thanshaukkan village, according to local residents who spoke to MDN.
The victims had reportedly fled their homes in April 2024 amid fighting and displacement linked by residents to the Arakan Army (AA) and its political wing, the United League of Arakan (ULA). On April 12, residents from Ywet Nyo Taung reportedly reached Thanshaukkan seeking safety.
According to eyewitness accounts cited by MDN, more than 600 Rohingya civilians sheltering in Thanshaukkan were killed by AA fighters on May 2. The reported victims included women, children and elderly people.
Myanmar’s Ministry of Information separately reported in August 2025 that more than 600 civilians were killed in Thanshaukkan and attributed the killings to the AA. The ministry said the incident occurred on May 2, 2024, when AA forces were taking control of the area.
However, responsibility for individual incidents during the 2024 fighting remains contested, and claims about the Thanshaukkan killings have been disputed by different sides. The 22 deaths identified in this report are based on testimonies from relatives and people who said they witnessed the events, as well as information MDN says it independently checked.
The 22 Reported Victims
According to the information provided by families and local sources, the reported victims were:
- Shawmsunar, 55, son of Swayed Yod Hossain, Alay Village
- Swayed Nur, 18, son of Swayed Yod Hossain, Alay Village
- Aziz Khan, 13, son of Swayed Yod Hossain, Alay Village
- Kalu, 70, son of Gulam Suwan, South Village
- Lotibanu, 60, wife of Kalu, South Village
- Ali Juhar, 55, son of Shar Mamoat, South Village
- Swayed Banu, 50, daughter of Fozol Amot, South Village
- Tahera, 9, daughter of Ali Juhar, South Village
- Nur Faisal, 5, son of Azizullah, South Village
- Mamat Noyum, 13, son of Ali Juhar, South Village
- Ayesha Sidiq, 18, daughter of Ali Juhar, South Village
- Tahera, 20, daughter of Mamat Shafi, North Village
- Muhammad Hubaif, 2½, son of Zomir Hossain, North Village
- Masetara, 1, daughter of Zomir Hossain, North Village
- Arofullah, 23, son of Adu Zobar, North Village
- Romida, 23, daughter of Aman Ullah, North Village
- Hossain Shah, 4, son of Arofullah, North Village
- Rohim Shah, 3, son of Arofullah, North Village
- Usman Shah, 2, son of Arofullah, North Village
- Nur Isma, 10 months, daughter of Arofullah, North Village
- Nur Khalima, 20, daughter of Senamullah, North Village
- Ma Taslima, 1½, daughter of Mamat Sadeq, North Village
The list shows that several reported victims were very young children. One was reportedly only 10 months old. Elderly residents were also among those identified.
The wider Thanshaukkan incident has previously drawn competing accounts over responsibility. Myanmar’s Ministry of Information has described the killings as an AA attack and said the area was no longer under government security control when the incident occurred.
Independent documentation of individual victims remains significant because large-scale civilian deaths can be difficult to verify during active conflict. Names, ages, family relationships and testimony from relatives can help establish a clearer record of those who died.
For the families of the 22 people identified from Ywet Nyo Taung, the May 2 killings remain a record of loss during one of the most violent periods of the 2024 Buthidaung fighting.
