Suspicions rise over POW deaths in Ann Township: only burn marks found, rather than bomb injuries
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Phyo(NP News)-Mar 15
The Arakan Army (AA) announced that 116 prisoners of war, including Brigadier General Myint Shwe, were killed in an airstrike by the Tatmadaw on a POW camp in the Da Lat Chaung area of Ann Township, Rakhine State, but the incident has been controversial.
According to the AA statement, the Tatmadaw conducted a continuous aerial bombardment of the camp in the Da Let Chaung area of Ann Township with four jet fighters and four Y-12s for about three and a half hours from 11:02 am to 2:28 pm on March 8, 2026.
The AA released statistics on March 11, 2026, showing that 116 prisoners of war were killed and 32 were injured. In addition, there were many serious, medium, and minor injuries. Some of the convicted civilians were also killed and injured during this incident. This incident was the largest number of prisoner of war casualties during the airstrikes, and many senior military officers were killed.
Brigadier General Thaung Tun, who was the deputy commander of the Western Military Command and is currently a prisoner of war, has been quoted in some Rakhine media outlets as saying that Brigadier General Myint Shwe, majors, and Tatmadaw physicians were among those killed in the prisoner of war camp in Ann Township, Rakhine State.
According to Brigadier General Thaung Tun, the Tatmadaw had conducted reconnaissance of the prison camp in advance and bombed it knowing it was a prison camp. However, some Tatmadaw supporters said that Brigadier General Thaung Tun, who is currently a prisoner of war, was seen wearing a shackle while giving his statement to the media, and that he may have been in a situation where he was unable to answer freely.
On the other hand, the photographs released by the AA do not show the pit-marked landscape, broken trees, and dismembered bodies typically caused by aerial bombardment. Instead, they show only signs of burning on the bodies, raising allegations that the AA may have intentionally burned the prisoners of war.
Furthermore, there are also some who argue that it is illogical that the four years of airstrikes in Rakhine State have resulted in almost no AA casualties, and that only prisoners of war and civilians are constantly dying.
In addition, the death of over 100 prisoners of war raises questions about the AA's blatant violation of the provisions of the Geneva Convention.
In particular, the photographs released by AA show the victims being found dead with iron shackles on their ankles, which violates Article 13 of the Third Geneva Convention, which states that "prisoners of war must be treated humanely at all times," and amounts to committing a war crime.
Furthermore, while Article 23 of the Geneva Convention requires captured prisoners have access to shelters against bombardment, equivalent to the local population, the AA failed to protect them from danger by using them as "human shields" by continuing to hold large numbers of prisoners on the front lines, where they were vulnerable to airstrikes.
In addition, forcing Brigadier General Thaung Tun, who is a prisoner of war, to appear in the media while wearing iron shac kles is a violation of international ethics that requires protecting the dignity of prisoners from public humiliation and is being used for propaganda purposes.
In February, Burma Campaign UK called on the British government to impose sanctions on the AA, citing its alleged involvement in a wide range of human rights abuses, including violations of international law.
Burma Campaign UK also highlighted the AA's human rights abuses, including the beheading or burning alive of Tatmadaw prisoners of war, in violation of international law.