Breaking News: 11 Arrested in Latest Raids by Burmese Armed Forces in Maungdaw

RB News

August 21, 2017

Maungdaw -- At least 11 civillians have been arrested during raids by the Burmese armed forces in two separate Rohingya villages in Maungdaw Township since yesterday evening, sources said.

A joint force of approximately 500 Burmese army personnel and Border Guard Police (BGP) have been carrying out raids in the village of 'Italia (officially called Myo Oo)' since around 4:00am this morning. At least 5 Rohingya civilians have been arbitrarily arrested by the armed forces and detained in the Police Detention Cell notorious as 'Cell of Hell' in the downtown of Maungdaw.

"The reason behind the raids by the Burmese armed forces is unknown yet. They haven't found anything illegal in the raids in the village. But most villagers have fled in fear of arbitrary arrests, tortured and extra-judicial killings or summary execution by the Burmese armed forces", said a human rights activist based in Maungdaw.

During a separate raid on the village of 'Nurullah' in southern Maungdaw yesterday (on August 20) evening, the Burmese military and BGP tortured many villagers and arrested 6 of them.

"The BGP and military launched raids on Nurullah village yesterday evening. During the raid, they tortured innocent villagers. They set their dogs on the fleeing villagers; had the dogs clamp them down and bite them.

"Of 20 people initially arrested, they released three after torturing them, and have detained 6 others in the BGP Police Camp at 'Maggyi Chaung' village. They are reported to have been being brutally tortured in detention now", a village man in southern Maungdaw said.

The 6 people arrested have been identified as:

1. Abdu Shukur s/o Ismail (50)

2. Noor Islam s/o Yusuf Zalal (40)

3. Md Faisal s/o Noor Islam (17)

4. Shamshu Alom s/o Kasim (40)

5. Dil Muhammad s/o Md Hason (33)

6. Md Sadak s/o Kasim, (21)

The raids on the Nurullah village have been carried out and the villagers tortured and arrested as a form of collective punishment on the whole village following the killing of a government informer, identified as Mohamed Younose 57, in the village by two men on August 15 morning. The government informer -- backed up by the Burmese authorities -- had earlier forced the families of the two young men to permanently flee from their homes to Bangladesh for reportedly not complying with his demands for ransom.

[Reported by Aung Kyaw Hla & MT Edited by M.S. Anwar]

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