A/HRC/42/CRP.5 Liberation Army.619 Facebook imposed the ban on the basis that it wanted to prevent offline harm by removing groups it branded “dangerous organisations”, adding it would remove “praise, support and representation” of the groups.620 C. Violations by the Tatmadaw 1. Unlawful Attacks by the Tatmadaw 273. The Mission documented attacks by the Tatmadaw, during its conflict with the AA that have led to loss of civilian life, civilian injury and destruction of civilian property. The Mission assessed these incidents under international human rights law and international humanitarian law.621 In making its legal assessment of each attack, the Mission was guided in part by the case law of international criminal law, which takes into account such factors as the means and method used in an attack, the distance between the victims and the attackers, the absence or presence of combat activity at the time and location of the incident, the presence of military activities or facilities in the vicinity that came under attack, and the status of the victims and their appearance.622 274. The Mission documented a pattern of the Tatmadaw using small arms fire and munitions with wide area effect inside and in close proximity to densely populated civilian areas. Government sources consistently claimed that the AA was present in the towns and villages where attacks have occurred but the AA and villagers consistently denied this. 275. Although it remains difficult for the Mission to verify with certainty whether AA fighters were in a particular village at a particular time, the Mission received corroborating accounts that in many locations the AA was not actively fighting from within the town or village at the time of the Tatmadaw’s attack. In many of the attacks that the Mission documented, it received no information or indication that AA fighters were killed or injured. This implies that AA fighters were not present in the town or village at the relevant time. Witnesses also consistently told the Mission that the military did not provide advance warning to civilians prior to the attacks. Civilian casualties may have been avoided, or at least minimized, if villagers had been given advanced warning of the attack. 276. While the Mission did not seek to undertake a comprehensive count of civilian casualties, credible organizations have estimated that, at the time of reporting, the conflict has resulted in approximately 91 civilian deaths and injuries to over one hundred injuries to others, including the elderly, women, men and children. Casualties have included ethnic Rakhine, Rohingya and members of Chin minorities.623 277. IEDs and/or landmines have also caused deaths and serious injuries, although the Mission was unable to determine who deployed those weapons. 624 619 620 621 622 623 624 86 LM-051, Facebook, “Banning More Dangerous Organizations from Facebook in Myanmar” (5 February 2019), available at: https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2019/02/dangerous-organizations-inmyanmar/ (Accessed 15 August 2019). See also Reuters, “Facebook targets 'dangerous' armed groups in latest Myanmar bans” (5 February 2019), The Guardian, “'Overreacting to failure': Facebook's new Myanmar strategy baffles local activists” (7 February 2019). Facebook, “Banning More Dangerous Organizations from Facebook in Myanmar” (5 February 2019), available at: https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2019/02/dangerous-organizations-in-myanmar/ (Accessed 15 August 2019). For a more detailed discussion of the rules of international humanitarian law see, A/HRC/39/CRP.2, paras. 50-62. ICTY, Prosecutor v. Strugar, Case No. IT-01-42-A, Appeals Chamber Judgement 17 July 2008, para. 271. The Appeals Chamber used these factors to assess whether an attack was directed at civilians under international criminal law. The Mission finds the factors helpful and relevant to assessing also whether an attack was indiscriminate under international humanitarian law. FFFGEN-1555826851-6828. See Chapter V, section G.2: The conflict between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army; Threats to Freedom of Expression, Association and the Press; Internet shutdown in Rakhine and Chin States.