Myanmar’s military court sentenced 144 civilians from Rakhine State to prison for their alleged support to insurgent armed groups, local media reported on Monday. The military court’s verdict comes more than three months after the arrest of the sentenced civilians in a military attack on their village Byain Phyu in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State.

The court charged the convicted civilians under a law against unlawful association for allegedly supporting the Arakan Army. Nevertheless, the relatives of the detainees denied the prisoners’ involvement with any insurgent armed organization and dismissed the court’s conviction. The convicted villagers were detained by the country’s ruling military junta following an attack on their village on May 29 in response to an armed attack conducted by rebel groups. According to local news, this led to the death of nearly 80 people after the military junta conducted a “clearance operation” claiming that it found hiding spots of fighters of the Arakan Army in  the villagers’ houses.

At the time, military forces arrested 300 villagers from Byain Phyu and brought 150 of them to court. Anonymous local citizens stated to local media that a few days before Monday’s trial, the Arakan Army launched an attack with heavy weapons on the Regional Command Headquarters in Sittwe, which may have caused some casualties.

The Arakan Army is an ethno-nationalist armed group based in Rakhine. Created in 2009, its objective is to promote the national identity of the Arakanese people and restore their sovereignty. It has been fighting the country’s military junta since the latter gained power in a military coup. In February 2021, the military seized power in Myanmar following a coup that overthrew the elected government. This event triggered widespread protests and the mobilization of armed resistance forces in Myanmar. The army severely oppressed both the peaceful protests and the armed resistance. The National Unity Government was formed in April 2009 in opposition to military rule and an armed resistance emerged in the following months. The Arakan Army is considered to be the biggest rebel force challenging the ruling military.

The conflict in Myanmar between military forces and armed organizations plunged the country into a humanitarian crisis which includes the displacement of local communities and deprivation of access to essential services such as education and healthcare. The armed conflict in Myanmar is also known to have caused the persecution of the Rohingya community. This ethnic Muslim group has been subject to human rights violations and endured abuse, mass killing and forced displacement despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order to provide provisional measures to protect them.

Hostilities between the military junta and the Arakan Army have escalated since 2023 as the latter expanded its control across Rakhine State’s territory. In response, the military conducted massive checks and indiscriminate attacks with helicopter gunships, artillery and ground assaults forcing Byain Phyu residents to flee the country. The village was largely deserted and thousands of citizens sheltered in schools and other buildings, with the military deploying its troops to prevent anyone from returning.