Satellite imagery shows how some villages in Rakhine State were wiped off the map and buried under new construction
Timelapse of the Anauk Myinhlut / Al Le Than Kyaw area from November 30, 2017 to March 10, 2018.The timelapse shows complete clearing of vegetation (strips of green cleared and bare ground exposed). Created through Sentinel Hub.
This process outlines a three-step approach that was seen as a pattern across affected areas in Rakhine’s north. That three-step process was:
- Destruction: Village destruction
- Clearing: Land clearing
- Construction: New buildings where villages were destroyed
The following report is a visual analysis of this process, specifically focusing on the case studies of the Anauk Myinhlut and Al Le Than Kyaw area, and the Hla Pho Khaung Transit Center.
Case: Anauk Myinhlut and Al Le Than Kyaw
Destruction: Village destruction
Historical satellite imagery indicates that homes and buildings in the Anauk Myinhlut and Al Le Than Kyaw area were destroyed at some point between July 28, 2017 and October 11, 2017. Villages in the area appear to have been completely destroyed.
We first identified the majority of this change on Google Earth. In imagery from Google Earth dated December 27, 2016, we can see clear signs of a village with buildings amongst the vegetation. This specific area is located here.
Google Earth imagery of the Anauk Myinhlut and Al Le Than Kyaw area, dated December 27, 2016.
However in satellite imagery dated October 31, 2019, we can see minimal structures, overgrown vegetation, and minimal signs of activity on roads or farmland.
Google Earth imagery of buildings in Anauk Myinhlut and Al Le Than Kyaw area, dated October 31, 2019.
There appears to be complete destruction of the foundations of the village and the urban area. Sentinel Hub provides additional, lower resolution satellite imagery that indicates a more specific date range in which destruction may have occurred. As seen in the Sentinel Hub imagery below, it is clear that a significant portion of this change happened between July 28, 2017 and October 11, 2017.
Sentinel Hub imagery of the same site dated July 28, 2017 (Left) and October 11, 2017 (Right). Note the brown-appearing patches on the image on the right in comparison to the one on the left where there is an indication of change on the ground.
The images below show the same location using a false colour filter, showing the areas that saw this change, specifically where there were buildings. This filter emphasizes distinct colors in imagery, allowing us to more clearly identify change. The first image is from July 28, 2017, and the second is from October 11, 2017.
Sentinel Hub imagery from July 28, 2017, with false colour filter applied.
Sentinel Hub imagery from October 11, 2017, with false colour filter applied. Note darker areas in the center of the image along the road, where buildings appear to have been destroyed.
Sentinel Hub imagery from October 11, 2017, with false colour filter applied. Note darker areas in the center of the image along the road, where buildings appear to have been destroyed.
Finally, commercially available imagery from Planet Labs provides further evidence that these buildings were destroyed by fire. This imagery also indicates that this change occurred between September 15th and September 21st of 2017. This imagery appears to show smoke columns where buildings were actually burned on September 15th.
Planet imagery of the same location on September 15, 2017 and September 21, 2017. Note that foliage around buildings has disappeared and that elements of structures such as roofs are no longer visible.
Other areas displayed even clearer signs of damage by fire or arson.
Areas just 25 kilometers north of Anauk Myinhlut and Al Le Than Kyaw show clear signs of systematic damage by fire, such as the villages around this location.
Google Earth imagery of villages near Pan Taw Pyin, dated January 21, 2017 (Left) and September 16, 2017 (Right).
Imagery from September 2017 suggests the systematic burning of structures. Lighter deposits are visible where there were once buildings, indicating possible ash or remnants of fire. Surrounding foliage is darkened, indicating that it may have been burned or damaged by the heat of nearby burning structures.
Planet imagery of the same location on September 15, 2017 and September 21, 2017. Note that foliage around buildings has disappeared and that elements of structures such as roofs are no longer visible.
It is possible that the villages in the Anauk Myinhlut and Al Le Than Kyaw area that were destroyed also saw a similar pattern of destruction.
However, this was not the end of the three-step process. There were more changes to happen in these areas, namely the clearing of land.
Clearing: Land Clearing
Between November 30, 2017 and March 10, 2018 there was a significant process of land clearing undertaken in the Anauk Myinhlut and Al Le Than Kyaw area. The timelapse seen below, created with Copernicus imagery through Sentinel Hub’s EO browser, shows the clear removal of vegetation from the land.
Time lapse of Copernicus imagery from Sentinel Hub, depicting the Anauk Myinhlut and Al Le Than Kyaw area from November 30, 2017 to March 10, 2018.
Previous Copernicus time lapse with normalized difference vegetation index to emphasize clearance of foliage.
The use of a normalized difference vegetation index to analyse and assess the vegetation in the imagery shows the change in vegetation more clearly, as seen in the timelapse above.
The land clearing did not just affect vegetation, but was specifically targeted to clear the remnants of where the villages were located.
In the satellite imagery below, dated December 27, 2016, villages and vegetation are visible.
Google Earth imagery of Anauk Myinhlut and Al Le Than Kyaw area dated December 27, 2016.
The image below, from DigitalGlobe on March 18, 2018, shows almost all tall vegetation has been removed, as well as clearing on the ground where villages once stood.
Google Earth imagery of Anauk Myinhlut and Al Le Than Kyaw area dated December 27, 2016.
A closer inspection of one of these villages indicates the level of effort undertaken to clear the land of all traces of the village. The specific village seen below was located here:
Detail of Google Earth imagery of structures in Anauk Myinhlut and Al Le Than Kyaw area dated December 27, 2016 (Top) and DigitalGlobe imagery of the same site dated March 18, 2018 (Bottom).
This level of destruction is likely to hinder independent investigations by human rights organisations. The clearing of land has been condemned by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch who stated that these areas “should be treated as crime scenes that should be preserved until independent, international investigations into mass atrocities are carried out.”
Myanmar’s former Social Welfare Minister, Win Myat Aye was the lead official of the ‘resettlement process’ to bring ‘verified’ residents back into Rakhine State. He told media in February 2018 that the bulldozing of former village sites was part of the plan to build villages to a higher standard as part of a “new village plan”.
However, a number of areas have not had new buildings constructed. Where there have been ‘new villages’, they have looked to be vastly different from what previously stood in that location.
Construction: New Buildings Where Villages Were Destroyed
There have been efforts to rebuild some new buildings where villages were destroyed. Much of this was part of the ‘new village plan’ announced by the government, ostensibly part of an effort to prepare for the repatriation of nearly half a million Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh.
In the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s 2019 report “Mapping Conditions in Rakhine State,” the authors found that the conditions of repatriation camps and the lack of preparation for the repatriation of refugees “cast doubt on assertions that current conditions in Rakhine will enable refugees to return to safe, dignified, and sustainable lives in Myanmar.”
In the Anauk Myinhlut and Al Le Than Kyaw area there appears to be few new buildings constructed after the devastating process of destruction and land clearing.
For example, this site located here around the Myin Hlut Buddhist Temple appears to be rebuilt only slightly, to accommodate a large blue building.
The image below dated December 27, 2016 shows that location prior to change.
Google Earth imagery of site near Myin Hlut Buddhist Temple, dated December 27, 2016.
While imagery from May 18, 2021 shows substantial change to both structures and the landscape at that location.
Google Earth imagery of site near Myin Hlut Buddhist Temple, dated December 27, 2016.
While there appears to be very little construction by way of domestic homes, satellite imagery does show significant works along the coastline proximate to the Myin Hlut Buddhist Temple and near where some villages appear to have been destroyed. Analysis of imagery appears to show digging and the construction of a possible wall and encampments. This can be seen in imagery of this coastline.
Much of the construction along the coastline was not present in 2019 satellite imagery, however appeared in imagery from 2020 and 2021.
The following images show the construction of what appears to be outposts on the coast.
Google Earth imagery of construction along the coast near Myin Hlut Buddhist Temple, dated February 23, 2020 (Top) and May 17, 2021 (Bottom).
Google Earth imagery of construction along the coast near Myin Hlut Buddhist Temple, dated February 23, 2020 (Top) and May 17, 2021 (Bottom).
This specific part of the coastline construction seen below is at least 5.4km long, and is located here.
Google Earth imagery of construction along the coast near Myin Hlut Buddhist Temple, dated February 23, 2020 (Top) and May 17, 2021 (Bottom).
Other areas in Rakhine State’s north that were destroyed during clearance operations have significantly larger developments of buildings on top of them.
Case: Hla Pho Khaung Transit Center
One of the most significant examples of construction where villages previously stood is the site of a large camp known as the Hla Pho Khaung Transit Center. State-owned media have also referred to this location as a ‘reception center’.
The facility can be seen here.
Construction commenced at some point just after January 19, 2018.
Timelapse of construction of Hla Pho Khaung Transit Center from January 2017 to January 2021. Created through Sentinel Hub.
The Global New Light of Myanmar, a Government-owned newspaper, reported that the ‘assemble board houses’ at the facility were donated to Myanmar by the People’s Republic of China.
Analysis of the Google Earth imagery indicates the same hallmarks of a repeated pattern of three steps identified in this report, with the destruction of villages, land clearing, and then construction.
Google Earth imagery dated January 21, 2017 is the last image before significant changes were detected.
Google Earth imagery of location near the future site of Hla Pho Khaung Transit Center, dated January 21, 2017.
Google Earth imagery dated February 23, 2020 of the Hla Pho Khaung Transit Center site
In imagery from September 16, 2017, it appears many of the buildings are destroyed. There are indications that the destruction was caused by fire.
Google Earth imagery of location near the future site of Hla Pho Khaung Transit Center, dated September 16, 2017.
Detail of Google Earth imagery dated September 16, 2017, showing evidence of burned buildings including possible ash and darkened foliage.
Note that the destruction by fire appeared to spare some buildings, indicating there may have been areas that were targeted.
Detail of Google Earth imagery dated September 16, 2017, showing buildings that were not destroyed.
By April 26, 2018, satellite imagery documents signs that land has been cleared and new structures are being constructed. A closer view can be seen below.
Google Earth imagery dated April 26, 2018 of the Hla Pho Khaung Transit Center site under construction.
As of the time of writing this report, the most recent Google Earth image is February 23, 2020.
Google Earth imagery dated February 23, 2020 of the Hla Pho Khaung Transit Center site.
Images uploaded by the state-owned New Light of Myanmar shows the facility from the ground in 2018, indicating the type of shelters that are to be used for repatriation of refugees that fled the area.
Photograph of the Hla Pho Khaung Transit Center published by New Light of Myanmar. The image was taken from the exact location here.
We used satellite imagery to geolocate where this photo was taken, as represented below. By matching buildings and perspective to available satellite imagery on Google Earth at the time the visit was made in 2018, we confirmed that this photograph was taken at the Hla Pho Khaung Transit Center.
Photograph of the Hla Pho Khaung Transit Center published by New Light of Myanmar. The image was taken from the exact location here.
While there appears to be an attempt to repatriate refugees back into Rakhine State, there are doubts as to the humanitarian nature of that process: Satellite imagery provides evidence that some of these camps and facilities have been built on land where villages once stood — before being destroyed by fire and cleared.
Given the limited access to Rakhine State by researchers and organisations, it is difficult to gain a true sense of what really happened on the ground. Documenting the genocide in Rakhine is made more challenging by efforts to physically remove evidence by altering the landscape, as shown in satellite imagery. Any effort for justice and accountability for the 2017 clearance operations is obstructed by the very fact that these operations not only destroyed villages and settlements, but also cleared the land of rubble and vegetation.
However, by looking at historical satellite imagery and identifying changes in landscape and human geography over time, we are able to identify clear signs that a systematic approach was carried out on a number of these areas. Satellite imagery analysis not only demonstrates the scale of these operations, but also the steps taken afterward. Villages were destroyed and cleared, and new structures built over the exact same place where homes, lives, and cultures once stood.