RB News 

November 15, 2016 

Maungdaw, Arakan – More than 30 Rohingya, including an 18 month old baby, were killed by the Myanmar Army and Border Guard Police (BGP) in Tha Yet Oak Dar Gyi Sar hamlet of Dar Gyi Sar village tract in Maungdaw Township in the evening on November 14th 2016. 

On November 14th, 2016 at 5pm 100 soldiers and police from the Myanmar Military and BGP forces entered Tha Yet Oak Dar Gyi Sar hamlet were reported forcing the women and children of the village to come with them to an area in the western side of the hamlet where brine is boiled to remove the salt. Witnesses say the security forces then forced the women to strip naked, then beat them and pushed their heads into the mud. 

A soldier reportedly held an 18-month-old baby boy, son of Nur Mamed, by the leg and hit the boy with a large piece of wood. The boy died on the spot. This is how merciless the killing has been, a villager told RB News. 

Security forces then arrested more than 30 men. Some others were shot dead, and others slaughtered by knife, according to local residents. The soldiers and the BGP then threw the dead bodies onto a haystack and burned them all. 

The women and children then fled to nearby villages after the troops left. 

The troops returned to the same hamlet this morning, November 15, 2016, and burnt down at least 100 Rohingya houses.

Report contributed by MYARF.

RB News 

November 13, 2016 

Maungdaw, Arakan – Rohingya women from Kyar Gaung Taung village in Northern Maungdaw Township claim that their children were thrown into a fire by the Myanmar Army and Border Guard Police during the morning time today, November 13, 2016. 

The Myanmar Military and Border Guard Police came into Kyar Gaung Taung village in Northern Maungdaw Township in the morning today and witnesses say they saw houses burnt by security forces and that children were thrown into the fire. 

“The military took all of property, then they torched the houses. They threw our children into the fire,” a Rohingya woman claimed while crying loudly. 

“They beat me and took all the money I had in my pocket. Then they kicked me out of my home and torched my house in front of me,” an elderly Rohingya from Kyar Gaung Taung village said. 

Since the morning today villagers from Kyar Gaung Taung were forced to flee their village and are taking refuge in nearby villages. RB is investigating for further details regarding the accusations of children being burnt alive by security forces. 

Yesterday, November 12th, 20016, more than a dozen Rohingya from Yay Khae Chaung Khwa Sone, Pwint Phyu Chaung, Dar Gyi Sar and Myaw Taung were killed by the Myanmar military. At least 50 others were injured in attacks from rocket launchers and helicopter attacks by the Myanmar Military.

RB News 

November 12, 2016

Maungdaw, Arakan – Several attacks on Rohingya civilians by the Myanmar Army and Air Force’s airstrikes left at least 12 killed and 50 injured. Many houses were burnt down in the attacks.

Today, November 12th, 2016 at 6:30AM the military besieged Myaw Taung village and then shot with launchers continuously. That caused many injuries to children and elderly Rohingya villagers and many houses were burnt down. The villagers tried moving to Yay Khae Chaung Khaw Soe village to escape the bombardment but the military followed them and attacked again. The soldiers have been said to have torched the remaining houses in the village which were not destroyed in the initial attack. 

At 10AM the military rounded Pwint Phyu Chaung (Zarmaina) village and did similar attacks done to Myaw Taung villagers. Many innocent children and elderly were injured and many houses have burnt down. Again, the remaining houses were torched by soldiers when the villagers escaped to Yay Khae Chaung Khwa Sone village. 

At 2:30PM the military besieged Yay Khae Chaung Khwa Sone and Dar Gyi Sar villages. They started non-stop shooting with launchers. In both villages many innocent villagers were injured. The soldiers torched many houses, mosques and religious schools (Madarasas), a villager told RB News.

As the military is continuously attacking unarmed villagers, the villagers themselves couldn’t tolerate any more and they started trying to defend themselves by holding sticks and slingshots. At least 10 Rohingya were closely shot dead by soldiers while the villagers tried to defend themselves.

The villagers from Yay Khae Chaung Khwa Sone and Dar Gyi Sar were attacked again by Myanmar Air Force’s airstrikes when they fled to Thu Oo Lar village. The airstrike left many Rohingya villagers injured.

Today at least 50 villagers injured from four villages and two died from injuries. “As we can’t leave from the area and blocked from any medical treatment, I am sure will die more.” a villager said. 

In the evening many Rohingya men were arrested while taking refuge on paddy fields. The villagers from four villages are on the run and have no food. The children and elderly are very much afraid of next attacks on them by Myanmar military. 

Today attacks by military on Rohingya civilians left at least 3000 homeless.

Report contributed by MYARF.

RB News

November 12, 2016

On November 10th, 2016 BROUK President Tun Khin addressed current crackdown on Rohingyas in Northern Arakan state with European Parliament, European Human Rights Council and Officials of European External Action Service.

He mentioned at the meetings “After 9th October border guard police posts attacked, Burmese military launched a major crackdown, alleging Rohingya were responsible. Burmese Military combined with Border Guard Police Forces started Extra-Judicial killings of Rohingya, mass rape of ethnic Rohingya women, mass arrests, forced relocations, blocking of humanitarian aid, burning of homes and business of Rohingya.

Tun Khin also raised concern to Diplomats from the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and China who visited Northern Rakhine State and called for credible investigation into recent events. Rohingya who spoke with the delegation were later arrested and/or questioned by the military and security forces. Fiona MacGregor, a journalist who worked at the English-language Myanmar Times was dismissed for an article she wrote on allegations of rape by security forces. The sacking came after the Presidents Office had publicly attacked her and the Ministry of Information complained to the paper's management about her report. 

Tun Khin's recommendations were as follows:

End human rights violations

Pressure must be brought to bear on the Government and Military to end all human rights violations by the security forces in Northern Rakhine State and ensure the civilian population is protected.

Unrestricted aid access needed

Some humanitarian aid is now being allowed back to a very limited area, but for most people dependent on aid, it has now been disrupted for more than a month. 80,000-85,000 people are in the locked-down area. A return to the previous situation means a return to what was already an unacceptable situation costing lives and causing immense suffering. The government must not just lift new restrictions, they must immediately allow humanitarian organizations and agencies full unrestricted access to all communities in Northern Rakhine State. 

Investigate abuses

Investigate all reports of human rights violations by the security forces in Northern Rakhine State. Ensure the investigations are independent and transparent. Bring those responsible to justice. As the government of Burma appears unwilling to do this, the UN should set up an inquiry to investigate.

End restrictions, intimidation and censorship of media

Media have been banned from accessing Rakhine State, journalists have been publicly attacked by Government officials for reporting abuses, government complaints led to one journalists being sacked, and state media have returned to military era style reporting and lies regarding the current situation. Freedom of media and freedom of expression is under threat.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon must lead UN efforts personally demanding an end to all human rights violations and lifting all humanitarian aid restrictions. He must be willing to travel to Burma to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the head of the military, Min Aung Hlaing. The international community should impose targeted sanctions against all those involved in human rights violations and restrictions on aid including visa bans, asset freezes, and restrictions on doing business with these individuals.

The United Nations Security Council must hold urgent discussions and call for an end to abuses and lifting aid restrictions.

One year after a historic election put a civilian government in charge, the country's army is using brutal methods to regain its popularity.

On a cool night last November, a euphoric crowd surged around the headquarters of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) in Yangon. Supporters danced and waved flags as result after result was announced from a digital billboard. It was a landslide. Amid the cheers, a man named Than Htay told me he how he had waited decades to vote freely.

For the first time in more than half a century of a brutal junta, civilians would be in charge of the country. But a year after the vote, it’s not clear just who is in charge in Myanmar — and Myanmar’s military, once despised, is riding a new wave of support.

The reason? An enemy propped up for decades by the army has made a resurgence in the public imagination, if not in reality. The military is restoring its political power by returning to its war footing against Rohingya Muslims, a persecuted minority who for years have been loathed as “illegal immigrants” from Bangladesh, despite their presence in Myanmar dating back centuries.

The Rohingya have been discriminated against for generations, but the persecution has grown particularly intense in recent years.

It was dictatorial Gen. Ne Win who, after seizing power in a coup in 1962, pushed through the 1974 Emergency Immigration Act and 1982 Citizenship Law that stripped Rohingya of their citizenship. In Burma: A Nation at the Crossroads, Benedict Rogers quotes a former government minister as saying the junta chief “had an ‘unwritten policy’ to get rid of Muslims, Christians, Karens and other ethnic peoples, in that order.’”

Government prejudice has been mixed with demagogic hatred, with the Rohingya portrayed as foreigners and, more recently, vehicles for the spread of jihad. In the era of the Islamic State, existing suspicions have become bound up with a global narrative of Islamist extremism. Nationalist Buddhist monks like Ashin Wirathu have framed Islam as an existential threat to Myanmar, stoking fears that Muslims are both outbreeding the Buddhist majority and connecting to international terrorist groups.

The Myanmar military now claims to be facing an organized rebel insurgency among the Rohingya, chiefly in the western province of Rakhine, which borders Bangladesh. It’s true that the far-flung state has been home to various insurgencies, both Buddhist and Muslim. In the past year, the Arakan Army rebels, comprised of Rakhine Buddhists, has fought several skirmisheswith the military.

In the early hours of Oct. 9, scores of assailants armed with swords and pistols attacked three border posts in Maungdaw Township, northern Rakhine, which borders Bangladesh. Nine police officers were killed and five soldiers then died pursuing the attackers. Both the authorities and the public blamed the Rohingya, with the government accusing the attackers of being Rohingya Muslim terrorists trained by the Taliban, citing evidence obtained — possibly by force — after soldiers captured some of the alleged culprits. In a later interview, Suu Kyi backpedaled, saying the claims came from only one person and may not be reliable.

The subsequent crackdown was swift and, according to multiple accounts, brutal. There have been accusations of arbitrary arrests, burned villages, extrajudicial killings, and rape.

All have been met with blanket denials, not only by the government but by a public already defensive about international criticism of Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya. Jingoistic articles have dominated state media and Myanmar-language Facebook. “Insurgents arrested!” (Bedraggled-looking men in a police lineup.) “Guns seized!” (Decades-old hunting rifles).

For the military, the attack came at a convenient moment, as other long-standing conflicts — with the Kachin rebels along the Chinese border, and with the Ta’ang Liberation Army in Shan State — are flaring up again. When 30 soldiers were killed this May in fighting with the Arakan Army, another minority — but not Muslim — militia in Rakhine, the military didn’t comment. But following the Maungdaw attack, the authorities have been warning of a “Muslim invasion” and promising to arm Buddhist civilian militias. The plan has fueled fears of a repeat of 2012 violence when Rakhine Buddhist mobs — allegedly facilitated by local authorities — set upon Rohingya Muslim communities, burning down homes and killing scores. “For the first time since the Kokang crisis of early 2015, the military is getting strong public support for its actions,” commented Richard Horsey, a Yangon-based political analyst, referring to a spasm of fighting in the north last year which killed more than 100 soldiers and rallied support for the armed forces.

In the wake of the Maungdaw attacks, Rakhine Buddhists marched around villages chanting their support for the army, while leading Myanmar journalists questioned why Rohingya were “uncooperative” with the military. A reporter who gave an interview to the New York Times saying he had witnessed soldiers shooting unarmed Rohingya later retracted his comments in a Facebook post that was shared thousands of times. What pressures he was under to do so remain unknown.

Sittwe, the Rakhine State capital, is an hour’s flight from Yangon and five hours away from the operation zone in Maungdaw, which is off limits to foreign journalists. In the dusty coastal town, it’s easy to forget how much Myanmar has changed since 2011, when the military launched reforms. The junta apparatus is everywhere, from the hotel whiteboards that listing the names of every guest and their room numbers, to the secret police and informers. Checkpoints stand outside derelict mosques, guards watching for long-gone congregants. They’re no longer needed, as most of the Muslim population were driven out of their homes following clashes with the Rakhine Buddhist majority in 2012, pelted with fruit by local Rakhines they trudged to the internment camps on the outskirts of the city where they have been confined ever since.

Inside the camps, the mood is bleak. In Maw Thi Nyar camp, Noor Islam, a middle-aged Rohingya community leader, told me he hadn’t heard from his sister from Maungdaw in more than a week. “She told me that her neighbor had already been killed,” he said. During their last conversation, she said, “Just pray for us and just pray for Maungdaw.”

He and others were convinced the rebel movement had been fabricated by the military. “Currently, the Myanmar military is implementing their policy,” he said as a small crowd gathered to listen in. “I’m just a simple man, so I don’t understand, but I’m hearing from my grandmother and grandfather and my father — because this is my ancestral land — that the Myanmar government is trying to ethnically cleanse these people, torturing people, eliminating people, doing such bad things to these people.”

The next morning, two Muslim men said that they had been fishing in a local river a few days earlier when they were detained and beaten by the navy. One of them, Abdul Amin, lifted his longyi, the long cloth worn by Myanmar men, to reveal purplish red marks on the backs of his legs. “We were just taking a rest after we pulled in the net and ate our dinner at 8 p.m.,” he said. “At that time the navy came to us and just bound our hands and beat us with a stick, made us lie down and beat us with a wooden stick.”

As we spoke, other Muslims gathered around, nodding in agreement as Abdul Amin said, “It’s like it’s government policy to kill people.”

There is no evidence that the Myanmar military faked the murder of their own border police. But few doubt that their actions over recent years may have nourished an appetite for retaliation.

Matthew Smith, CEO and founder of Fortify Rights, a nongovernmental organization, described the military’s “divide and conquer” strategy in the region to rally the support of the region’s majority Buddhist population. “It has an uncanny ability to instigate conflict between ethnic groups, and it’s done that to great and deadly effect in Rakhine,” he said. “We haven’t seen evidence that the attacks on police were a false flag event but it’s clear the military is using the situation to shore up favorable sentiment.”

“The allegations [about military atrocities] emerging from northern Rakhine State are still difficult to verify given very limited international and media access to date. But they are broadly consistent with allegations that are heard from other military operations zones, including in northern Shan and Kachin,” Horsey, the political analyst, commented, referring to two other long-standing conflicts between the military and minority groups.

But many local Buddhists don’t want to see a return to violence of any kind. Rakhine Buddhists who had fled the fighting against the suspected Rohingya insurgents in the north and were staying in a makeshift refugee camp inside a stadium in late October said that they had been friends with Muslims back in their home villages and met up for religious ceremonies.

Ronan Lee, a doctoral candidate at Singapore’s Deakin University who has done research in northern Rakhine, said that “despite the events of 2012, many Muslim and Buddhist communities in northern Rakhine State were keen to work together and they understood that both their communities were better off when there was peace and trade between them. Despite the state’s natural resources, keeping Muslim and Buddhist communities separate and restricting Muslims’ ability to travel has damaged the state’s economy.” As the military’s popularity has surged following the attacks, the civilian government’s muted response has left it looking ineffectual. Shortly after the attacks, State Counsellor and de facto government leader Suu Kyi flew to India. Last week, she was in Japan. She has not visited Rakhine and neither has her president, Htin Kyaw. According to Reuters, the Ministry of Information submitted a list of questions about the army’s response that went unanswered. “There are really two governments in Myanmar: the civil government and the military government,” said Widney Brown, director of programs at Physicians for Human Rights, which recently released a report on northern Rakhine.

The military retains control of vital institutions including the ministries of defense, home affairs, the police, and immigration. “Thus, there is a very strong military presence along the land borders, including with Bangladesh,” Brown said. “This control coupled with concerns about insurgencies means that the military government, not the civilian government, is really in control in northern Rakhine State.”

The months leading up to the Maungdaw attacks had brought rare, civilian-led progress in the search for peace in the state. In the face of staunch opposition from the military, the government paved the way for an independent Rakhine commission, headed by former United Nations chief Kofi Annan, to conduct investigations and file an advisory report. The recommendations are due in late 2017.

Now that enterprise looks distinctly shaky. “The naming of Annan to head up a state advisory commission is an attempt to shed light on abuses and set the stage for some reconciliation,” said Brown. “However, the ability of the commission to have an impact was already limited, as it is merely advisory and the recent violence in northern Rakhine State may have cost the commission any opportunity to have an impact.”

More disturbing than the suggestion that the civilian government is powerless against the military is the idea that they tacitly approve. Nobody really knows what Suu Kyi thinks of the Rohingya, although she has often been criticized for her failure to act. There is also evidence that other senior NLD officials are deeply hostile.

After the October attacks, state media, which is run by the civilian-led Ministry of Information, has carried opinion pieces condemning “fabricated” allegations of human rights abuses by the military and accused journalists of being “hand in glove” with terrorists. They have referred to Rohingya as “thorns.”

On Facebook, Zaw Htay, a spokesman for the government, singled out a journalist at the national English-language newspaper, the Myanmar Times, for her reporting on alleged military rapes. “We support and advise government to take legal action against [the Times] and those who are responsible for fabricating false news,” read one of the many comments. The reporter was fired, reportedly following calls to the paper by Zaw Htay, a former soldier who served in the former military-backed administration but was kept on by Suu Kyi.

A few days ago, Zaw Htay confidently said the government and army were “collaborating” on the crisis. “And [they have] also the same policy on it.”

Additional reporting by Aung Naing Soe.

RB News 

November 10, 2016

Maungdaw, Arakan – Three Rohingya sisters were raped by Myanmar Army and Border Guard Police on November 9th, 2016 at night in Sin Thay Pyin hamlet, Laung Don Village Tract in Northern Maungdaw Township.

On November 9th, 2016 at about 9PM Myanmar Army and BGP entered Sin Thay Pyin Middle hamlet, Laung Don village tract. Then they said they want to check the house of One particular man and they entered into his house. When they didn't find the man inside the house, they pulled out the wife and raped three daughters.

“They asked about the men. When the women responded them that men fled from home in fear. They pull out the old woman who is mother of the girls and then raped three girls.” a villager told RB News. 

The rape victims are maternal sisters. They are at 17-year-old, 21-year-old and 23-year-old. The eldest one is married.

“The soldiers looted some cash about Kyat 200,000 and 8 grams of gold.” a woman said.

“They destroyed all of our foods and households. We took those damaged foods, some pots and tried to stay in the paddy field but they followed us and destroyed all again. We have nothing to eat now. We are very much concern on our women dignity than those foods. We request everyone to solve these harassment, abuses on us by military.” the woman continued. 

On the same day at about 5pm the military and BGP entered Zaydi Pyin Lower hamlet. They roamed Round for about an hour, then ordered the women to leave from houses. They threatened that all will be beaten mercilessly if they don’t leave within an hour. As the women were scared they had to leave from houses and since they are taking refuge at their relatives houses in nearby villages. They are now facing a serious problem with food.

A human rights watchdog in Maungdaw confirmed about three maternal sisters raped by the soldiers and BGP police. They said they have been in contact with the victims and they have the audio testimonies from the victims with them.

Report contributed by MYARF.

RB News 

November 9, 2016

Maungdaw, Arakan – Four corpses are currently floating in the Naf River near Zee Pin Chaung Village in Taung Pyo Let Wal Sub-Township located in northern Maungdaw Township. No one is willing to retrieve the bodies because they are afraid of being shot by the Myanmar Border Guard Police. 

On November 8th, 2016 at around 8 PM five Rohingya residents who were attempting to flee to Bangladesh through Zee Pin Chaung village were shot dead by the Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP). They were attempting to flee persecution by the BGP and Military. After the incident Rohingya villagers only saw four of the five bodies floating in the river. They were unable to recover the bodies because they were afraid they would also be shot if they tried. 

“On Tuesday at 8 PM three men and two women were illegally crossing the border. They were shot dead by the Border Guard Police led by Captain Myo Zaw Win. Four corpses are floating on the river but no one dares to pull them out. A corpse was found nearby the shore. Police picked it up and sent it to Maungdaw Hospital. The body was identified as Eliyas, son of Mohammed Hasan. He is a youth,” a Rohingya villager told RB News. 

At the asme time another family who were attempting to flee to Bangladesh were caught by the BGP.

“Kabir Ahmed and his family were also caught in Zee Pin Chaung, including his wife and three children. The older children are above five years old. One Boy and one girl. Those two children were handed to the hamlet-in-charge, Abdul Salam, from Zee Pin Chaung middle hamlet, where they were arrested. The other child detained with the parents is an infant,” the villager added. 

Since October 9th witnesses have reported many crimes committed by the military and BGP, including arson, shooting and killing civilians, torture, arbitrary arrests and gang rape of Rohingya women. Many Rohingya in northern Maungdaw are fleeing to save their lives. While most have fled to the mountains some are trying to cross the border into Bangladesh which Myanmar and Bangladesh consider to be illegal, even if International Law would consider them refugees.