Arakan massacres in 1942

Arakan massacres in 1942
Arakan massacres in 1942
Part of the Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II
Location	Arakan, Burma (present-day Rakhine State, Myanmar)
Date	1942
Target	Arakanese Buddhists, Rohingya Muslims
Deaths	20,000 Arakanese deaths; 40,000+ Rohingya deaths
Victims	Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims
Perpetrators	Armed Arakanese and Rohingya locals,; British loyalists,; Burmese nationalists

During World War II, Japanese forces invaded Burma (now Myanmar), which was then under British colonial rule. The British forces retreated and, in the power vacuum left behind, considerable violence erupted between pro-Japanese Buddhist Rakhine and pro-British Muslim villagers. As part of the 'stay-behind' strategy to impede the Japanese advance, the Commander-in-Chief of forces in Delhi, Wavell, established "V-Force", which armed Rohingya locals in northern Arakan to create a buffer zone from Japanese invasion when they retreated.^[2]

The period also witnessed violence between groups loyal to the British and Burmese nationalists.^[2]

^ "Racism to Rohingya in Burma" (PDF). Burma Library. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
^ ^a ^b Field-Marshal Viscount William Slim (2009). Defeat Into Victory: Battling Japan in Burma and India, 1942–1945. London: Pan. ISBN 978-0330509978.

[1] "Racism to Rohingya in Burma" (PDF). Burma Library. Retrieved 29 June 2023.

[Field-Marshal_Viscount_William_Slim_2009-2] Field-Marshal Viscount William Slim (2009). Defeat Into Victory: Battling Japan in Burma and India, 1942–1945. London: Pan. ISBN 978-0330509978.

[1]

[2]