Two Rohingya Women Raped By Myanmar Military In Maung Gyi Taung Village, Buthidaung Township

January 8, 2017 

Buthidaung, Arakan – Two Rohingya women from Maung Gyi Taung village tract in Buthidaung Township were raped by the Myanmar Military. 

Today, January 8th, 2017 at 12 noon soldiers from Light Infantry Unit 564 raped two Rohingya women from Maung Gyi Taung village tract. The women were 45-years-old and 35-years old. One was gang raped by two soldiers and the other was raped by one soldier, according to local villagers. 

On January 7, 2017 at 11am a Rohingya a 20-year-old Rohingya youth named Fayaz, son of Nasir, was arrested by soldiers from LFU 564 and Border Guard Police and was taken to Police Battalion 3. He was reportedly tortured while he was in custody as authorities tried to extract information about weapons they believed Rohingya were hiding. Fayaz reportedly had no connection to any weapons or fighting but the security forces were reported to have continued to abuse him while he was in custody until he finally told them that there was a hiding place with weapons by a river nearby to make the torture stop. 

Today on January 8th, 2017 at 10am Fayaz was brought in handcuffs to the river located in Myit Nar hamlet of Maung Gyi Taung village tract by soldiers from LFU 564. One they arrived there it was obvious that Fayaz had made up the location earlier as he was trying to make his torture stop and he jumped into the river to try to escape but was caught by a villager and handed back to the soldiers. He was beaten severely on the spot. 

Some soldiers then took him back to the LFU 564 and another group of soldiers entered the village and were reported to have raped two women while they were there. When the soldiers entered the village the men fled fearing arrest or torture. The soldiers then forced children to leave from the houses and raped two women who were neighbors at this time. Both of the women are married and have children. 

(RB News does not publish the names of victims of rape or sexual assault in order to protect their dignity, safety and privacy)