The Htan Shauk Khan Incident: What The Diplomat Reveals

News Analysis ၊ May 30, 2026

An investigative report published on May 28, 2026, by Rajeev Bhattacharyya, a veteran journalist for the international news outlet The Diplomat, reveals that allegations made by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Fortify Rights regarding an incident in Rakhine State are entirely disconnected from the ground reality.

While the HRW accused the Arakan Army (AA) of massacring approximately 170 civilians in the Rohingya Muslim-inhabited village of Htan Shauk Khan (also known as Hoyyar Siri) in Buthidaung Township on May 2, 2024, local residents and the village chief have firmly rejected these claims. Instead, they testified with credible evidence that the fatalities were caused exclusively by the Myanmar military junta's airstrikes and heavy artillery shelling.

On February 8, 2026, The Diplomat correspondent Rajeev Bhattacharyya personally visited "New Htan Shauk Khan," a relocated settlement built by survivors of the original village, and interviewed eyewitnesses, including village chief Mohammad Juloddin.

According to Mohammad Juloddin, the military junta began collaborating with the extremist group ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army) in mid-2023 to forcibly conscript Rohingya youths.

This was done to raise a force to resist the advancing AA. At the time, a large number of trained ARSA operatives and recruits were stationed in Htan Shauk Khan, which served as a stronghold filled with ARSA supporters.

Realizing they were about to lose strategic positions, including Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 551, the military junta armed these ARSA militants and formed a combined front to launch counter-offensives against the AA.

What Actually Happened on the Morning of May 2, 2024?

At around 8:00 AM on May 2, assuming that the AA had already captured Htan Shauk Khan, the Myanmar military began launching heavy airstrikes and artillery shelling onto the village. Shortly after, around 1,000 heavily armed junta soldiers and their family members from IB 551 retreated into the village to seek cover.

Simultaneously, the AA used loudspeakers from the neighboring village of U Hla Phe, urging Htan Shauk Khan residents to evacuate immediately due to the intense fighting. Amidst the chaos, the village caught fire from the junta's bombardment, prompting residents to flee in all directions.

While estimates regarding the death toll differ, the village chief noted that around five residents were killed prior to the evacuation, while an elderly resident, Mohammad Huson, estimated that about 30 people including his brother, nephew, and father-in-law perished due to the junta’s airstrikes and shelling.

Despite differing estimates, residents were unanimous on one crucial fact: all casualties and injuries were the direct result of the military junta's airstrikes and artillery, not actions by the AA.

Who Fled to the Refugee Camps in Bangladesh?

The human rights reports by HRW and Fortify Rights relied almost exclusively on accounts from certain individuals who fled to refugee camps in Bangladesh to claim that the AA slaughtered civilians.

However, village chief Mohammad Juloddin clarified the true identity of those refugees:

"Over a hundred residents have fled to Bangladesh for fear of retaliation by the Arakan Army. They were mostly ARSA functionaries, sympathizers, or collaborators with the Myanmar military."

Ground evidence thus confirms that those accusing the AA of war crimes before international bodies are primarily the armed Muslim militants who collaborated with the junta, or their associates, who fled after their joint military effort failed.

In conflict zones globally, information is frequently manipulated and weaponized by vested interests to construct narratives that suit specific agendas. Due to its strategic location and vast natural resources, the Arakan region remains a focal point for various international organizations and foreign governments.

The Diplomat report, corroborated by senior AA officials and local villagers, notes that all junta personnel and their families who retreated into Htan Shauk Khan on May 2, 2024, ultimately surrendered to the AA.

Conclusively, the investigative report from The Diplomat demonstrates that the allegations made by HRW and Fortify Rights did not occur on the ground. Instead, the narrative appears to be a propaganda effort designed to blame the AA for casualties caused by the junta's own airstrikes, utilizing accounts manufactured by extremist Muslim armed groups that fought alongside the military regime.