Regional Overview: Asia-Pacific | December 2023

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Bangladesh: Violence between the AL and independent candidates increases prior to election

Prior to the 7 January elections in Bangladesh, violence between the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) had been on the rise. However, with the BNP boycotting elections, intra-party violence within the AL increased in the month before the election. Given the guarantee of an AL win, competition centered on who would secure party nominations. Candidates who were not selected for the official ticket then ran as independents, resulting in an increase in violence between the AL and independent candidates. ACLED records nearly 70 events between AL and independent candidates and supporters in December, leading to hundreds of injured individuals and two reported fatalities. As expected, the AL won the elections, which the US and UK deemed neither free nor fair,¹ and is set to begin a new term (for more, see ACLED’s recent report, The Violent Politics of Bangladesh’s 2024 Elections).

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India: Civilians killed in army custody in Jammu and Kashmir

On 22 December, the Indian army detained eight people from the Gujjar community in Jammu and Kashmir and took them for questioning. Three of the detainees were later found dead, having been tortured while in custody in Bafliaz town.² A video circulated on social media that showed them being tortured and killed by Indian forces. The detainees had been picked up in connection with a separatist attack the day before, in which five soldiers were killed and two others were left injured. Three military officers, including a brigadier, were dismissed shortly after the incident. Authorities deployed troops and shut down the internet in Poonch and Rajouri districts, where the attacks had occurred, to prevent unrest.³ Human rights bodies and United Nations experts have long expressed concern about the human rights situation in Kashmir, particularly over violations committed during counter-terrorism operations.⁴ State violence targeting civilians in Jammu and Kashmir more than doubled in 2023 compared to 2022, ACLED data shows. The human rights situation is believed to have worsened since 2019 when the Indian government unilaterally ended Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and statehood.⁵ On 11 December 2023, the Indian Supreme Court upheld this decision, while also mandating that local elections be held within a year.⁶

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Myanmar: Intensified fighting in Rakhine state

In December, ACLED records a 54% increase in political violence in Rakhine state compared to the month prior, driven by intensified fighting between the military and the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA). Fighting between the military and ULA/AA began in early November following the breakdown of a year-long ‘humanitarian’ ceasefire and the launch of Operation 1027 by the Brotherhood Alliance, of which the ULA/AA is a member. Fighting since then has spread across Rakhine townships, as well as in Paletwa township, situated near the India border in neighboring Chin state.⁷ In December, fighting was intense in Mrauk-U town, a city with historical significance for the Rakhine people.⁸ The military has frequently resorted to airstrikes and shelling, causing civilian casualties.⁹ Military airstrikes across Mrauk-U and Buthidaung reportedly led to the deaths of 10 Rohingya civilians on 28 December.¹⁰ Additionally, military arrests of civilians, often accused of having ties with the ULA/AA, have been reported across Rakhine state.¹¹ China facilitated peace talks between the military and the Brotherhood Alliance in Kunming city on 11 December, as Beijing reportedly wanted to uphold stability along the China-Myanmar border amid disruptions in cross-border trade.¹² While both sides reached an agreement for a 20-day ceasefire,¹³ fighting persisted, with the Brotherhood Alliance reaffirming its commitment to overthrow the military regime.¹⁴ China brokered another three-day round of peace talks from 22 to 24 December, but no agreement was reached.¹⁵

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Papua New Guinea: Tribal violence in the Highlands increasingly deadly

Inter-communal tensions in Papua New Guinea grew increasingly violent in December, with fatalities rising by 59% compared with the previous month. The deadliest violence was recorded in the Highlands, where at least 47 people were reported dead in relation to tribal violence in Enga, Jiwaka, and the Eastern Highlands. In Enga, militiamen from the Kaekin, Palinu, Sikin, and 11 other tribes attacked the Sau Walep and Itiokon Nenein tribes in Wapenamanda at the end of the month, resulting in more than 30 reported deaths. The attack prompted members of the Sau Walep and Itiokon Nenein tribes to block off the Highlands Highway to demonstrate the Enga government’s failure to enforce a truce that the tribes agreed on in September.¹⁶ Enga is the site of regular outbreaks of violence between tribes. 

In Jiwaka, 11 people from the Kupaka Onbe sub-clan, including women and children, were killed in a retaliatory attack by a rival tribe.¹⁷ The attack stemmed from a conflict between two families over a piece of land, which has led to decades of fighting. It is believed that the attack was an act of retaliation after the Kupaka Onbe sub-clan killed a boy in November. Local authorities declared the area a ‘fighting zone,’ giving state authorities expanded powers to take control of the area. Customary land boundaries between tribes and clans are highly contested in Papua New Guinea, and land disputes are a major cause of inter-tribal violence. Another land dispute-fueled tribal fight led to six reported deaths in Eastern Highlands. The Yauna and Punano tribes clashed on 12 December in Kainantu, leading to the displacement of many people on both sides.¹⁸ The clash followed a fight between the two groups in October that resulted in seven reported deaths and more than 80 wounded.

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Philippines: Lethal fighting in Maguindanao del Sur

In the Philippines, an escalation of fighting between army troops and Islamic State (IS)-inspired militants led to a significant number of casualties in December, with militant-related violence and government operations reportedly leaving at least 48 people dead. The army dealt the IS-inspired militants a major blow on 1 December when 11 fighters from different factions of the Dawlah Islamiyah (DI) — including the reported head of DI — were killed in a military operation in Maguindanao del Sur.¹⁹ A few days later, on 3 December, four civilians were killed when the DI-Maute Group bombed a Catholic mass at the Mindanao State University in Marawi City. Philippine authorities believe the bombing was in retaliation for the earlier killing of the 11 DI militants.²⁰ IS claimed responsibility for the 3 December bombing. President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr., and other defense officials insinuated, but did not confirm, that foreign actors were involved in the attack.²¹ At least nine more DI militants were killed in follow-up military operations in Maguindanao del Sur and neighboring towns in Cotabato on 7 December.²² The most lethal day of fighting then occurred on 9 December, when 22 people were killed in Maguindanao del Sur as the DI engaged in a firefight with the formerly separatist rebel group MILF. Nine DI militants, eight MILF militants, and five civilians were killed in the 9 December clash. The MILF has been cooperating with state forces in fighting armed Islamist groups in Mindanao since signing its peace agreement with the government in 2014.

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