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Is this the final confrontation for the Rohingya?

TRT World
“It’s like a big crime in Myanmar to be Muslim. They are terrorising us to wipe out the population.”

This weekend, more than 90 Rohingya Muslims were killed in Myanmar. According to the UN, they are one of the most persecuted minorities on the planet. So, who are the Rohingya and why do they live in apartheid conditions?


Nearly 3000 Rohingya Muslims are dead in Myanmar says ERC
August 29, 2017
European Rohingya Council spokeswoman Anita Schug told Anadolu Agency between 2,000-to-3,000 Muslims had died in Rakhine state, and thousands other had been injured in what she described as a “slow-burning genocide”.

“It [the situation in Rakhine] is an ongoing slow-burning genocide,” Schug said, accusing Myanmar’s military of being behind the deaths.

She said almost a thousand Muslims were killed on Sunday in Saugpara village, Rathedaung alone.

More than a 100,000 civilians have been displaced in Rakhine, while another 2,000 Muslims are trapped on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border which was closed by the Bangladeshi government, Schug added.

She also said a hundred villagers from Auk Nan Yar were taken to an unknown location on Wednesday, adding there were concerns for their safety.

Deadly attacks on border posts in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state broke out on Friday, resulting in mass civilian casualties.

Later, media reports emerged saying Myanmar security forces used disproportionate force and displaced thousands of Rohingya villagers, destroying homes with mortars and machine guns.

The region has seen simmering tension between its Buddhist and Muslim populations since communal violence broke out in 2012.

A security clampdown launched in October last year in Maungdaw, where Rohingya form the majority, led to a U.N. report on human rights violations by security forces that indicated crimes against humanity.

The U.N. documented mass gang rape, killings, including that of babies and children, brutal beatings and disappearances. Rohingya representatives have said approximately 400 people were slain during the operation.

The Rohingya are the world’s largest stateless community and of one of its most persecuted minorities.

Using a dialect similar to that spoken in Chittagong in southeast Bangladesh, the Sunni Muslims are loathed by many in majority-Buddhist Myanmar who see them as illegal immigrants and call them “Bengali” — even though many have lived in Myanmar for generations.

They are not officially recognized as an ethnic group, partly due to a 1982 law stipulating that minorities must prove they lived in Myanmar prior to 1823 — before the first Anglo-Burmese war — to obtain nationality.

Most live in the impoverished western state of Rakhine but are denied citizenship and harassed by restrictions on movement and work.

Another 400,000 live in Bangladeshi camps, although Dhaka only recognizes a small portion as refugees.
https://amazhh.wordpress.com/2017/08/29/nearly-3000-rohingya-muslims-are-dead-in-myanmar-says-erc/
 
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জ্বলছে গ্রামের পর গ্রাম, তরুণদের দেখামাত্র গুলি, তরুণীদের ধর্ষণ (ভিডিও)
২৯ আগস্ট, ২০১৭ ১১:৫৯:২৪
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রাখাইনে রোহিঙ্গা অধ্যুষিত গ্রাম একের পর এক আগুন দিয়ে জ্বালিয়ে দিচ্ছে মিয়ানমারের সরকারি বাহিনী। জঙ্গিগোষ্ঠীর সদস্য আখ্যা দিয়ে ধরে নিয়ে যাওয়া হচ্ছে আরাকানের মুসলিম অধ্যুষিত এলাকার তরুণদের। তাদেরকে হত্যা করা হচ্ছে বলে জানিয়েছেন প্রাণ বাঁচাতে সীমান্তে এসে অবস্থান নেয়া রোহিঙ্গারা।

রোহিঙ্গারা বলছেন, তারা উভয় সঙ্কটে পড়েছেন। নিজ দেশে বর্মী বাহিনীর নিপীড়ন ও সীমান্ত পার হলে বিজিবির বাধা। জিরো পয়েন্টে খোলা আকাশের নিচেই তাদের আশ্রয়স্থল।
রাখাইন থেকে পালিয়ে আসা রোহিঙ্গারা জানান, মিয়ানমারের সেনাবাহিনী গণহারে তরুণদের আটক করে নিয়ে যাচ্ছে। যাদের ধরতে পারছে না তাদের গুলি করা হচ্ছে। বাড়িঘরে আগুন ধরিয়ে সব পুড়িয়ে দেয়া হচ্ছে।

রাখাইন রাজ্যের ঢেঁকিবনিয়ার উত্তরপাড়ার আহমদ হোসেন মুঠোফোনে জানান, রোববার খুব ভোরে সেনাবাহিনীর একটি দল গ্রামে ঢুকে স্থানীয় জহির, করিম ও আব্দুর শুক্কুরকে আটক করে নিয়ে যায়। এ সময় তারা পালিয়ে পাশের পাহাড়ে আশ্রয় নেন। পরে ওই তিন তরুণের ওপর বর্বর নির্যাতন চালিয়ে অজ্ঞান অবস্থায় জঙ্গলে ফেলে দেয়া হয়।
ঢেঁকিবনিয়া পূর্বপাড়ার আবছার কামাল জানান, সেনাবাহিনী সন্ধ্যার পর বাড়িতে বাড়িতে তল্লাশি শুরু করেছে। যেসব বাড়িতে মানুষ পাচ্ছে না সেসব বাড়ি বোমা মেরে জ্বালিয়ে দিচ্ছে। যাকে পাচ্ছে ধরে নিয়ে যাচ্ছে।

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সোমবার (২৮ আগস্ট) সকালে উখিয়ার পালংখালী আঞ্জুমানপাড়া সীমান্ত দিয়ে বাংলাদেশে ঢুকে পড়া আহমদ শফি জানান, ফকিরপাড়ায় গত দুই দিন ধরে সেনাবাহিনী বর্বর নির্যাতন চালাচ্ছে। প্রকাশ্যে অনেককে হত্যা করছে।

রোববার (২৭ আগস্ট) বিকেলে বিজিবি মহাপরিচালক মেজর জেনারেল আবুল হোসেন সীমান্তের বিভিন্ন পয়েন্ট পরিদর্শন করে বলেন, রোহিঙ্গাদের বাংলাদেশে প্রবেশ কোনোভাবেই গ্রহণযোগ্য নয়। তাই সীমান্ত সিল করে দেয়া হয়েছে।

বাংলাদেশ-মিয়ানমার সংলগ্ন টেকনাফ সীমান্তের বিভিন্ন এলাকা ঘুরে দেখা গেছে, মিয়ানমার সীমান্তে রাতের বেলায় আরকান রাজ্যের বিভিন্ন গ্রামে অগ্নিকান্ডে আগুনের লেলিহান শিখা সীমান্ত এলাকা থেকে দেখা যাচ্ছে। রাতে গুলির শব্দ ভেসে আসছে। বিরোধপূর্ণ এলাকার সীমান্তে হেলিকপ্টার চক্কর দিতে দেখা গেছে ও সেন্টমার্টিনের অদূরে জাহাজ যাতায়ত করছে বলে খবর পাওয়া গেছে।


মিয়ানমার থেকে সীমান্ত অতিক্রম করে বাংলাদেশে পালিয়ে আসা রোহিঙ্গারা সাংবাদিকদের জানান, সামরিক হেলিকপ্টারটি মিয়ানমার উত্তরাঞ্চলীয় এলাকায় একটি ক্যাম্পে নামে। ঘণ্টা দেড়েক পর আবার চলে যায়। হেলিকপ্টারটি চলে যাওয়ার পর মিয়ানমার সেনারা নির্যাতন আরও বৃদ্ধি করেছে।

সেন্টমার্টিন দ্বীপ ইউপি চেয়ারম্যান নুর আহমদ জানান, সেন্টমার্টিনের দক্ষিণে মিয়ানমারের হাইসসুরাতা এলাকায় ব্যাপক আগুনের লেলিহান শিখা দেখা গেছে। বঙ্গোপসাগরে দেখা গেছে মিয়ানমার নৌ-বাহিনীর ৩টি জাহাজ। ফলে উদ্বেগ উৎকণ্ঠায় রয়েছে সীমান্ত এলাকায় বসবাসকারী বাংলাদেশি বাসিন্দারা। বর্ডার গার্ড অব বাংলাদেশ (বিজিবি) ও বাংলাদেশ কোস্টগার্ড সদস্যরা সীমান্তের স্থল ও নাফ নদের জলপথে অতিরিক্ত টহল জোরদার রেখেছে এবং সতর্ক পাহারায় রয়েছে।

প্রাণ বাঁচাতে আরকান রাজ্যের রোহিঙ্গারা দলে দলে বাংলাদেশের অনুপ্রবেশের চেষ্টা করছে। উখিয়ার ঘুমধুমের জলপাইতলী এলাকায় কয়েক হাজার রোহিঙ্গা নারী-পুরুষ ও শিশু জিরো পয়েন্টে অবস্থান করছে। তাদেরকে বিজিবি অনুপ্রবেশে বাধা দিয়ে মিয়ানমারের দিকে ঠেলে দিচ্ছে। এছাড়া টেকনাফ সীমান্ত পয়েন্ট দিয়ে অনুপ্রবেশকালে রোববার দিবাগত রাত থেকে সোমবার ভোর পর্যন্ত ১৪১ জন রোহিঙ্গাকে আটক করেছে বিজিবি ও পুলিশ। হোয়াইক্যং ও উনছিপ্রাং সীমান্ত এলাকা থেকে এসব রোহিঙ্গাদের আটক করা হয়। পরে স্ব স্ব সীমান্ত দিয়ে আটক রোহিঙ্গাদের স্বদেশে ফেরত পাঠানো হয় বলে নিশ্চিত করেছেন ২ বিজিবি’র টেকনাফস্থ ব্যাটলিয়ন অধিনায়ক লে. কর্নেল এস এম আরিফুল ইসলাম।

এদিকে উখিয়া উপজেলার ঘুমধুম জলপাইতলীর জিরো পয়েন্টে অনুপ্রবেশের জন্য অবস্থানকারী রোহিঙ্গা ঢেকিবনিয়ার মোহাম্মদ হোছাইন, মিনারা বেগম, খুরশিদা বেগমসহ কয়েকজনের সাথে কথা বলে জানা যায়, গত শুক্রবার থেকে মিয়ানমারের সেনাবাহিনীরা পুরুষদের ধরে নিয়ে গিয়ে গুলি করে হত্যা করছে। মহিলাদের ধর্ষণ করা হচ্ছে। ঘরবাড়িসহ পুরো এলাকায় আগুন ধরিয়ে দিচ্ছে।

মোহাম্মদ হোছাইন আরো জানান, সেনাবাহিনীর নির্বিচারে গুলি বর্ষণকালে প্রাণের ভয়ে পালানোর সময় পাঁচ বছরের ছেলেকে ফেলে চলে আসি। এখন ছেলেটি কোথায় এবং কি অবস্থায় আছে আল্লাহই জানে।

খুরশিদা বেগম জানান, তার স্বামীকে সেনাবাহিনী ধরে নিয়ে গেছে। চারমাসের একমাত্র শিশুপুত্রকে নিয়ে এলাকার অন্যান্যদের সাথে বাংলাদেশের দিকে পালিয়ে আসি। কিন্তু এখানেও বিজিবি বাধার মুখে রয়েছি। বর্তমানে অর্ধহারে অনাহারে দিনাতিপাত করছি। তিনি আরো বলেন, একদিকে মিয়ানমার সেনাবাহিনীর অমানবিক নির্যাতন, অন্যদিকে বাংলাদেশে ঢুকতে দেয়া হচ্ছে না। আমরা রোহিঙ্গাদের শেষ আশ্রয়স্থল কোথায়?

তাদের সাথে কথার বলার সময় অন্যান্য রোহিঙ্গা নারী-পুরুষরাও হাউমাউ করে কাঁদতে থাকে। সবার চুখে মুখে আতঙ্ক। রোদ বৃষ্টি থেকে রেহাই পেতে ত্রিপলের ছাউনি দিয়ে সকলে জড়ো হয়ে কোন রকম ঠাঁই নিয়েছে। এসময় স্থানীয় কয়েকজন নারী পুরুষ তাদেরকে শুকনো খাবার বিতরণ করতে দেখা গেছে।

ভিডিওতে রোহিঙ্গাদেরন প্রতি বর্বরতা দেখতে এখানে ক্লিক করুন

বিডি২৪লাইভ/এমআর
http://bd24live.com/bangla/article/1503986364/139672/index.html
 
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http://en.prothom-alo.com/
UN rights chief urges Myanmar to rein in security forces
Reuters . Geneva | Update: 21:19, Aug 29, 2017
The top United Nations human rights official called on authorities in Myanmar on Tuesday to ensure that the security forces refrain from using disproportionate force against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state.

Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned coordinated attacks by insurgents on security forces last Friday, but said that the political leadership had a duty to protect all civilians “without discrimination”.

More than 8,700 Rohingya have fled from Myanmar into Bangladesh since the attacks, Zeid said in a statement.

“This turn of events is deplorable. It was predicted and could have been prevented.”
http://en.prothom-alo.com/bangladesh/news/157971/UN-rights-chief-urges-Myanmar-to-rein-in-security
 
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The Plight and Persecution of the Rohingyas in Myanmar
By Asif Haroon Raja
Global Research, June 17, 2015
Crimes against Humanity, History, Poverty & Social Inequality, Religion
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Muslims in whole of Buddhist governed Southeast Asian Myanmar face persecution but the Rohingya minority community is suffering the most. The radical Buddhists of Arakan State that are in majority have been involved in enormous atrocities against the minority Rohingya Muslims ever since 2003. They have been brutally murdering Muslims, including women and children and are doing all this barbarity with the backing and support of the Myanmar regime, political and religious leadership and the law enforcement agencies.

Leader of National League for Democratic movement Aung San Suu Kyi, who is Nobel peace prize winner, has so far failed to condemn the violence mainly because it is being carried out by the backbone of her own political network.

The Myanmar government has annulled the citizenship of more than four lakh Muslims. Having lived there for 7 centuries, Rohingyas have suddenly become stateless with no identity and are marooned and forsaken by the world. Rohingyas are among the most persecuted minorities in the world. The cruel subjugation of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar has crossed all the boundaries since 2012. The world and the UN are quietly watching the genocide and none is coming forward to stop the ethnic cleansing and provide succor to the 140,000 displaced Rohingyas.

History
Delving into the background history of Rohingyas, one finds that Muslim Arab traders had started arriving in Kingdom of Arakan (now called Rakhine) from the time of Caliph Haroon Rasheed in 8th century, thus initiating the spread of Islam. Arab, Turks, Persian and later Mughal traders used to visit this piece of land. Similarly Islam expanded in Indonesia and Malaysia because of the Muslim traders. Later, people belonging to various ethnicities came to the region which included Bengalis, Turks, Pathans and others. ‘Rohingya’ were developed from different stocks of people concentrated in one geographical location called State of Rakhine. Afterwards, many people in the north of Arakan province accepted Islam. In 1430 A.D. a Turk King Sultan Suleman Shah established his Sultanate and introduced his currency. Kalma Tayiba and names of the four Caliphs were written on the coins.

This region was ruled by the Muslim rulers till 1784, after which these lands were captured by the Burmese. The British after capturing Bengal in 1757 kept expanding their rule. They captured Arakan in 1825 and Burma in 1828, and placed the two regions under the Viceroy of Delhi. Hundreds of thousands of Bengalis flooded into Arakan in search of work. By 1941, one-third of population was from Bengal. This migration was resented by the locals. During the 2nd World War, the Japanese captured most of the areas of Burma and entire region became a war zone.

State of Rakhine (Arakan) has a very odd geo strategic location in Bay of Bengal. It is one of the poorest provinces of Myanmar. Among the 3 million Rakhines, there are about 1.3 million Rohingyas in Rakhine State who have been living there for centuries, and others are Buddhists who are in majority. In 1942, the Buddhists carried out massive genocide of Muslims and almost 150000 Muslims were massacred. During the military rule (1962-88) in Burma, Rohingyas were treated as foreigners and gradually their nationality was taken away. During that era, ethnic clashes between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims intensified and as a result of suppression more than 200,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh. Only 32600 were given formal protection as refugees.

In 1982 when Burma name was changed to Myanmar, they passed a new controversial law for citizenship and declared the people of Rohingya as Bengalis and they were denied citizenship. They claim that among the Rohingyas, over one million are Bengalis and are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Rohingyas lost the Myanmar’s citizenship since they were unable to prove their presence and settlement in the country before 1823. Fact of the matter is that all Rohingyas are not Bengalis. They have a rich history and they are a mixture of Turks, Arabs, Mughals and even Pathans and all speak Rohingya, which is different from Burmese language. Denial of their citizenship by Myanmar is the root cause of all the issues faced by them today. Previously they used to have some relief as they had camps in Bangladesh in the Cox’s Bazar region, but after Hasina Wajid came to power, this relief was also snatched from them. Her regime has refused to accept them.

Rohingya is a separate State and its people have separate entity. They have almost 4000 sq km area. A huge mountainous system separates them from Myanmar. They have 24 identified blocs where oil and gas are in abundance and exported to province of Hunan of China in the north. One of the reasons behind China’s silence is their strategic interests. Rohingyas can sustain their identity, as Arabic and Persian are taught in their schools. They have their own language, culture, beautiful geography and resources. They say that since Myanmar regime is not giving them the citizenship, then it has no right to rule them. They complain that the only crime committed by the Rohingya is that they are Muslims. They argue that 150000 people in East Timor were given independence just because they were Christians.

The Myanmar Government says that we have given citizenships to many illegal Bengali immigrants, but they keep on entering into Myanmar every year which is getting arduous for us to control. This argument is baseless because they should frame a proper channel to halt this immigration. The Government argues that 1.3 million Rohingya are not citizens, have no voting or basic rights and are Bengalis. There are restrictions on family size and access to jobs. State terrorism on such flimsy pretext is unjustified. Since 2012 about 140,000 Rohingyans have become refugees and are living in dilapidated camps. Rohingyas say that who has given the right to Myanmar junta to support and promote their persecution even if they are illegal immigrants.

This phenomenal human rights violation in Myanmar got no effectual denunciation from the West. U.S. Candidates like Senator Rand Paul are not even bothering to discuss and condemn the massive massacre of the Rohingyan Muslims in their 2016 Presidential campaigns. The UN role is also deplorable. Brad Adam, executive director of the Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division criticized the role of United Nations with respect to the ongoing onslaught in Myanmar. UN’s top official in Myanmar, Renata Dessallien senselessly issued a statement after seeing the plight of Rohingyas cramped in boats in high seas for months and many ‘floating coffins’ after they were refused entry by Muslim States. He stated, “The UN recognizes and appreciates the recent improvements in the conditions in Rakhine, including efforts to improve the situation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs). The Government has started to enable IDPs to return to their places of origin and is assisting with livelihood enhancement, health and education.” This statement was travesty of truth. One reason of West’s apathy is Islamophobia.

The underlying acts and human rights violations have left no justification for the international community to still remain immorally biased and mum. Muslim countries of ASEAN who turned away the boats of the starving refugees are equally guilty. Hundreds of mass graves have been discovered in Thailand and Malaysia. They probably died of hunger. While India is aspiring to become the policeman of South Asia, China is getting ready to become super power, but both have showed complete disinterest in this human tragedy.

The most shocking and appalling role is that of the Muslim World. Despite having the ability to exert pressure on to the Western countries to put sanctions over Myanmar to force it to stop human rights violations against the Rohingya Muslims, up till now no move has been made.

Although OIC has appointed special envoy and a fact finding mission for Rohingyas and have also announced $200,000 for humanitarian aid, but it has not played any decisive role. It should devise a strategy to provide humanitarian relief to the refugees and those stranded in high seas and also exert pressure on the oppressors to grant citizenship to the Rohingya Muslims who have been living there since 14th century, or else grant them the status of a separate State. The UN should step forward to resolve this human tragedy speedily. If urgent steps are not taken, it will have dangerous implications about which I will write separately.

The writer is a war veteran/defence analyst/columnist/author of 5 books, Director Measac Research Centre, Directors Board of Governors TFP. asifharoonraja@gmail.com

The original source of this article is Global Research
Copyright © Asif Haroon Raja, Global Research.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-plight-and-persecution-of-the-rohingyas-in-myanmar/5456287
 
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The Stateless Rohingya
28 August
Mass Killing in Rathedaung
RATHEDAUNG, BURMA. Myanmar troops escalated the systematic oppression and killing of Rohingya civilians in Northern Rakhine State leading up to major clashes on August 25th, 2017. Since then mass killings have been reported in Maungdaw, Buthidaung, and Rathedaung Townships.

On August 27th at 5 P.M. local time, Rohingya villagers in Chut Pyin , Rathedaung were taking shelter when troops alongside extremist Rakhine civilians raided the village.
Photos sent after the raid show the victims as vulnerable Rohingya women and children.

A villager who fled the mass killing, recounted that for every 10 people only 2 were able to escape. He also said that the all Rohingya people who stayed back and tried to take shelter were murdered by the troops and mob of Rakhine settlers.
http://www.thestateless.com/…/mass-killing-in-rathedaung.ht…

#Rohingya #Myanmar #RakhineState #Burma
#Rathedaung #Buddhist #Muslims
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Mass Killing in Rathedaung
By The Stateless Rohingya RATHEDAUNG, BURMA. Myanmar troops escalated the systematic oppression and killing of Rohingya civilians in Northern Rakhine State leading up to major clashes on August 25t…
THE STATELESS.COM
 
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Burma: Rohingya Muslim babies and children 'being slaughtered with knives', UN warns
Eight-month-old baby among children stabbed to death in their own homes during so-called ‘area clearance operations’ by Burmese security services, according to ‘alarming’ UN report
May Bulman
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A Rohingya child in Bangladesh who fled from persecution by security services in Rhakine State UNHR
Babies and children have been slaughtered with knives during a military campaign on Rohingya Muslims in Burma, according to a series of accounts in a disturbing UN report.

An eight-month-old, a five-year-old and a six-year-old were all reportedly stabbed to death in their own homes during so-called “area clearance operations” by Burmese security services, which are reported to have killed hundreds of people since 9 October, in a Rohingya-dominated area in northwest Rakhine State.

The chilling accounts, described by the UN as “revolting”, are outlined in a flash report from the United Nations Human Rights office. The report, which has been released early because of its alarming nature, is based on interviews with more than 200Rohingya refugees who have recently entered Bangladesh after fleeing from violence they faced in Rakhine.
One mother recounted in the report how her five-year-old daughter was trying to protect her from rape when a man “took out a long knife and killed her by slitting her throat”, while in another case an eight-month-old baby was reportedly killed while his mother was gang-raped by five security officers.

A 14-year-old girl also told of how, after being raped by soldiers, she saw her mother beaten to death and her two sisters, aged eight and 10, killed with knives.

The Burmese Government has repeatedly denied allegations of persecution against the Rohingya minority, rejecting any evidence as “propaganda” and arguing that police beatings were ordinary in many countries.

During the crackdown in Rakhine, armed members of Burma’s security services are said to have rounded up Rohingya men and taken them away in vehicles, before then going from house to house gang-raping or sexually harassing women, and sometimes killing children who cried or tried to protect their mothers.

In another case, recounted by a number of refugees in separate interviews, the army of Rakhine villagers locked an entire family, including elderly and disabled people, inside a house and set it on fire, killing them all.

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Boys stand among debris after fire destroyed shelters at a camp for internally displaced Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine (Reuters)
Many witnesses and victims also described being taunted while they were being beaten, raped or rounded up, such as being told “you are Bangladeshis and you should go back” or “what can your Allah do for you? See what we can do?”

Other attacks against Rohingya Muslims by Burma’s security services include brutal beatings and disappearances. The vast majority of those interviewed said they had witnessed killings, and almost half reported having a family member who was killed, as well as family members who were missing.

More than half of the 101 women interviewed said they had been victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence.

Linnea Arvidsson, one of the four UN workers who interviewed Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and drew up the report, told The Independent she had never encountered such a “shocking” situation.
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More than 65,000 Muslims flee alleged persecution in Burma
“It’s shocking. I’ve never encountered a situation like this, where you do 204 interviews and every single person you speak with has a traumatic story, whether their house was burnt, they’ve been raped or a relative was killed or taken away,” said Ms Arvidsson.

“In many cases we were the first people, other than their close family, who these people had spoken to. They would break down. Women and even grown men would be crying.

“The women cried when they spoke of being raped, or seeing their children being killed. Men cried when they related how their houses had been burnt, and their concerns over how they would now be able to support their families.

“It’s very rare for there to be such a high prevalence of violence. And when you think we spoke to just 204 people of a total of 88,000 who have fled the area, it’s really scary to think of the total numbers.”

The attacks on Rohingya in Rakhine were triggered last October when nine police officers were killed in attacks on posts along the border with Bangladesh, and the security services launched an intense crackdown on the Rohingya population to track down the insurgents behind the incident.

But the violence follows a long-standing pattern of violations and abuses, systematic discrimination and policies of exclusion and marginalisation against the Rohingya that have been in place for decades in northern Rakhine.
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Ms Arvidsson added that the violent attacks against men, women and children were more than systematic operations in the search to find the insurgents responsible for the police killings in October, inferring that ethnic discrimination was also behind the slaughter of babies.

“To say these are area clearance operations looking for insurgents who killed police officers doesn’t make any sense. To kill babies, toddlers and young children and rape women when you are trying to find insurgents doesn’t make sense," she told The Independent.

“The testimonies we gathered pointed at two intents as the motivation of this persecution: the collective punishment following humiliation over the attacks against police officers in October, and the ethnic and racial element – the disdain for this minority.

“You don’t slaughter eight-month-old babies because a police officer was attacked. It’s because you just don’t consider the child as human.”
rohingya.jpg

UN human rights envoy visits Burma as genocide concerns mount
The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, described the “devastating cruelty” against Rohingya children as “unbearable”, saying the allegations of babies being stabbed “beg” a reaction from the international community.

“The devastating cruelty to which these Rohingya children have been subjected is unbearable – what kind of hatred could make a man stab a baby crying out for his mother’s milk,” he said.

“And for the mother to witness this murder while she is being gang-raped by the very security forces who should be protecting her – what kind of ‘clearance operation’ is this? What national security goals could possibly be served by this?

“I call on the international community, with all its strength, to join me in urging the leadership in Myanmar to bring such military operations to an end. The gravity and scale of these allegations begs the robust reaction of the international community.”

Mr al-Hussein also urged the authorities in Burma to bring an immediate end to the “grave human rights violations” against its people, saying: “The Government of Myanmar must immediately halt these grave human rights violations against its own people, instead of continuing to deny they have occurred, and accepts the responsibility to ensure that victims have access to justice, reparations and safety.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...ives-massacre-genocide-un-warns-a7561711.html
 
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হেলিকপ্টারে হামলা চালাচ্ছে মিয়ানমার আর্মি, জিরো পয়েন্টে আর্তনাদ
Helicopter Gunships being used to Massacre's Rohingyas, desperate Cries at the "Zero Point"

332253_1.jpg

29 Aug, 2017
গত বৃহস্পতিবার মিয়ানমারের রাখাইন রাজ্যে রোহিঙ্গা জঙ্গি দমনের নামে সরকারের পৃষ্ঠপোষকতায় সে দেশের সেনাবাহিনী ও রাখাইন যুবকদের যৌথ হত্যাযজ্ঞে পাঁচ শতাধিকরেও বেশী নিরহ রোহিঙ্গা মুসলিম শিশুসহ নারী পুরুষকে হত্যা করা হয়েছে। অগ্নিসংযোগ করে পুড়িয়ে তছনছ করে দেয়া হয়েছে বসত ঘর ও ধন সম্পত্তি।

এখনো অব্যাহত রয়েছে রোহিঙ্গা হত্যাযজ্ঞ।

মিয়ানমার সেনাবাহিনীর হেলিকপ্টার থেকে ছোড়া বোমায় প্রকম্পিত হচ্ছে রাখাইন রাজ্যের মুসলিম রোহিঙ্গা পল্লীগুলো। আপনজন হারিয়ে নিজের জীবন বাঁচাতে শত শত শিশু, নারী-পুরুষ ১৫-২০ ঘণ্টা পায়ে হেঁটে আশ্রয় নিতে চেয়েছিল তুমব্র ও ঘুমধুম সীমান্ত দিয়ে বাংলাদেশে। কিন্তু এখানেও বর্ডার গার্ড বাংলাদেশ'র (বিজিবি) বাঁধা। অবশেষে নিরুপায় হয়ে শত শত রোহিঙ্গা আশ্রয় নিয়েছে জিরো পয়েন্টে খোলা আকাশের নিচে।

মঙ্গলবার সকালে তুমব্রু কোনা পাড়া আম বাগানে আশ্রয় নেয়া মংডু ফকিরবাজার এলাকার আবুল কালামের বড় ছেলে শফি উল্ল্যাহ জানান, সোমবার বিকাল থেকে সারা রাত প্রায় ১৫ ঘণ্টা পায়ে হেঁটে পাহাড়ী পথে কিছুক্ষন আগে এখানে পোঁছান। তিনি আক্ষেপ করে বলেন ‘আসতে চাইনি, চার দিন ধরে কয়েকশ’ গ্রামবাসীর সঙ্গে মিয়ানমারের আর্মি, পুলিশ ও বিজিপির লড়াই হয়েছে। তাদেরকে আমরা গ্রামে ঢুকতে দেইনি। লাঠিসোটা নিয়ে যতটুকু সম্ভব প্রতিরোধ গড়ে তুলেছিলাম। শেষ পর্যন্ত তাদের সঙ্গে আর পারিনি। ’

তিনি বলেন, ‘রবিবার দুপুরের আগে কয়েকটি হেলিকপ্টার এসে আমাদের গ্রামে সাতটি বড় বড় বোমা বিস্ফোরন ঘটায়। বোমার বিকট শব্দে কেপে উঠে পুরো এলাকা, সঙ্গে সঙ্গে পুরো এলাকা ধোঁয়ায় আচ্ছন্ন হয়ে যায়। এসময় গ্রামবাসী লাঠিসোটা নিয়ে বের হলেও কোনো কাজ হয়নি। কারণ বোমা বিস্ফোরণ ঘটানোর পাশাপাশি হেলিকপ্টার থেকে আমাদের লক্ষ্য করে গুলি চালানো হয়েছে। এতে কয়েকজন গ্রামবাসী মারা যাওয়ার পর আমরা ভয়ে পাহাড়ি পথে বাংলাদেশে চলে আসি।

তুমব্র সীমান্তের জিরো পয়েন্টে আশ্রয় নেয়া আয়েশা বিবি, মাবিয়া খাতুন, আবু শরিফ ও মোস্তফা জানান, মিয়ানমারের আর্মি ও রাখাইন (মগ) যুবকরা সন্ত্রাস দমনের নামে আমাদের পাড়াতে এবং ঘর বাড়িতে হামলা চালাচ্ছে। তারা তল্লাশী চালিয়ে নারীদের ধর্ষণ করছে এবং পুরুষদের হত্যা করছে। আমাদের বাড়ি ঘরে অগ্নিসংযোগ করে পুঁড়িয়ে লণ্ডভণ্ড করেছে। আমরা ভয়ে এখানে পালিয়ে এসেছি।

তারা আরো জানান, আমরা এখনো ওপার থেকে থেমে থেমে গুলি ও বোমার আওয়াজ শোনতে পাচ্ছি। একই সময়ে মিয়ানমারের ভেতরে ব্যাপক গোলাগুলির শব্দ শোনা যাচ্ছে। এখান থেকে ওপারে গ্রামগুলিতে আগুন ও ব্যাপক পরিসরে ধোঁয়া দেখা যায়। ধারণা করা হচ্ছে, মিয়ানমার সেনাবাহিনী রোহিঙ্গাদের ওপর হত্যাযজ্ঞ এবং জ্বালাও-পোড়াও অব্যাহত রেখেছে।

এসময় তারা কান্নাকাটি করে বলেন, মিয়ানমার আর্মির বন্দুকের গুলি থেকে বাঁচতে আমরা বাংলাদেশে আশ্রয় নিতে এসেছি কিন্তু তাতে বিজিবি ঢুকতে দিচ্ছেনা। আমরা বাধ্য হয়ে জিরো পয়েন্টে আশ্রয় নিয়েছি। দুধের মাসুম বাচ্চাদের নিয়ে খোলা আকাশের নিচে পানির পিপাসায় এবং ক্ষুধার যন্ত্রণায় কলিজা ফেটে যাচ্ছে। এভাবে আর ২/১ দিন থাকলে সবাই মারা যাব।

জানা যায়, মিয়ানমার আর্মির গুলিতে আহত অনেকে বাংলাদেশে এসেছেন। এদের মধ্যে কমপক্ষে পাঁচজন নিহত হয়েছেন বলে সংশ্লিষ্ট সূত্রে নিশ্চিত হওয়া গেছে। চট্টগ্রাম মেডিকেল কলেজ হাসপাতালে মারা যান মুসা ও এয়াকুব। বাংলাদেশে আসার পথে মারা গেছেন হাফেজ হারুন। গুলিবৃদ্ধ অবস্থায় বাংলাদেশে আসার পথে আরও দু'জন নিহত হন। আহত কমপক্ষে একশ’জন বাংলাদেশের বিভিন্ন হাসপাতালে ভর্তি হয়েছে। এদের মধ্যে চট্টগ্রাম মেডিকেল কলেজ হাসপাতালে ভর্তি হয়েছেন ১৪ জন, কক্সবাজারের বিভিন্ন হাসপাতালে ৩৩ জন এবং ডুলাহাজরা হাসাপাতালে ভর্তি হয়েছে তিনজন।

বিডি প্রতিদিন

http://www.newsofbd.net/newsdetail/detail/34/332253
 
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NGO: Expel Myanmar nationals if violence against Rohingya continues
KUALA LUMPUR: An Islamic non-governmental organisation has called on the Government to expel all Myanmar nationals from the country if the violence against the Rohingya people there does not stop.

In the face of fresh violence against the Rohingya community, the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islam Organisations (Mapim) said such atrocities could no longer be tolerated.

"You have nothing to do with us and you must go back. We are not going to have problems without you here. You don't have to be here," Mapim president Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid said after handing a memorandum to the Myanmar embassy here on Wednesday morning.
Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/…/ngo-expel-myanmar-nationals-i…/….

#AungSanSuuKyi #Myanmar #Rohingya #Malaysia
 
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20 more bodies of Rohingyas recovered at Teknaf
Our Correspondent | Published: 10:37, Aug 31,2017 | Updated: 12:28, Aug 31,2017
Border Guard Bangladesh recovered 20 more bodies of Rohingya people of Myanmar from the River Naf at Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar on Thursday.

The bodies included 11 children and nine women, said Lieutenant Colonel Ariful Islam, commanding officer of BGB battalion-2.

They were the victims of a boat capsize that took place in the river near Shah Parir Dwip area around 11:00pm on Wednesday, he said.

The boat carrying Rohingyas was heading towards Bangladesh border as they were fleeing due to violence in Rakhine state, Myanmar, the BGB official added.

He, however, could not say how many Rohingya people boarded on the boat.

On Wednesday, the BGB personnel recovered four bodies of Rohingya people, including two women and two children, from the river.

They were also the victims of a boat capsize that took place early Tuesday.
http://www.newagebd.net/article/23165/20-more-bodies-of-rohingyas-recovered-at-teknaf
 
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12:00 AM, September 01, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 01:05 AM, September 01, 2017
Exodus of refugees turns fatal
23 die as Rohingya boats sink in the Bay, Naf; 400 Hindus also take shelter in Bangladesh
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Some of the Hindu women and children, from Rakhine near Kutupalong camp yesterday. Photo: Pinaki Roy
Pinaki Roy and Mohammad Ali Jinnat

Law enforcers rescued 19 bodies of Rohingya people, who had been fleeing violence in Myanmar, from the Bay of Bengal after the ill-equipped boats carrying them capsized yesterday.

With this, the total death toll of the Rohingyas from boat disaster stood at 23. Four others drowned as another boat sank in the Naf River Tuesday night, local authorities say.

Of those rescued yesterday, 10 were children and nine women. One woman was aged around 60, while others were between 35 and 45.

The children, seven of them girls and two boys, were under four, said Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer Jahid Hossain Siddiqui.
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A Rohingya family in the rain and some of the Hindu women and children, Photo: Pinaki Roy
The boats sank near the west beach of Subrang union of Shah Pori Dweep in Teknaf upazila of Cox's Bazar, said Mohammad Main Uddin, officer-in-charge of Teknaf Police Station.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Coast Guard and Bangladesh Police in a combined operation rescued the bodies early yesterday after Subrang Union Parishad Member Nurul Amin informed them about the accident.

Nurul Amin said one of the boats capsized around 1:00am and the other around 7:00am. He added these were small boats carrying people way beyond their capacity.

Talking to some people who managed to swim ashore, he learnt that the dead were residents of Dongkhali and Fatngza areas of Maungdaw in Rakhine State of Myanmar.

As their identities were not known and none claimed their bodies, the dead were buried in a graveyard at Shah Porir Dweep, said Cox's Bazar Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ali Hossain.

Thousands of Rohingyas are fleeing to Bangladesh with Myanmar law enforcers conducting a "clearing operation".

Rohingya militants attacked 30 police posts and an army base last Friday, triggering a military response. More than 100 people, mostly insurgents, were killed.

Refugees and rights groups alleged Rohingya villages were set on fire in Rakhine, triggering the influx. While most are walking to cross the border, many are taking rickety boats to enter Bangladesh.

UN agencies estimate more than 27,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh, while some 20,000 have been stranded in no man's land along the border.

Some Rohingya people with bullet and burn injuries have been admitted to different hospitals in Bangladesh in the last three days. They claim to be the victims of Myanmar military offensive.

HINDUS FLEEING TOO
Alongside the Rohingya Muslims, over 400 Hindus from Maungdaw made it to Bangladesh yesterday through Rezu Amtola of Ukhia amid attacks by an “unidentified armed group”.

They took shelter in a makeshift tent at Paschim Hindupara of Kutupalong. They said unidentified people with firearms, bombs and knives besieged their villages last Friday.

The attackers, wearing black clothes and veils, surrounded Fakirabazar, Riktapara and Chikonchhari villages till yesterday and "killed some 86 people of the community", they claimed.

“My husband Kanu Rudro went to visit our son-in-law's house at Fakirabazar. But they [unidentified armed men] killed all of them [Kanu, his daughter, and son-in-law],” said Bakul Bala, wailing.

Niranjan Rudro from Chikonchhari of Maungdaw, too, said some people in black clothes besieged the villages and set fire to the Hindu houses.

“They were carrying guns, bombs and knives.”

The refugees said one or two Hindu children went missing while crossing the border with Rohingya refugees.

“We have been living in Burma for generations. We are Burmese Hindus,” said Chitya Ranjan Paul, who reached Kutupalong around 5:30pm yesterday.

His identity card issued by the Myanmar government described him as “Indian”.

Aid workers were seen enlisting the names of the Hindu refugees while local Hindus providing them with food and shelter.

MEDICAL CAMP FOR ROHINGYAS
BGB has set up a medical camp for the several thousand Rohingyas now stranded in no man's land along the Naikhyangchhari border and waiting to enter Bangladesh.

Some 200-300 refugees have been seeking treatment daily at the medical camp set up two days back, said Dr Mohammad Shahidul Islam, who is treating them.

The patients, mostly children and women, come with fever, cold, diarrhoea, minor cuts and scrapes and skin diseases, he added.

A few youths from a Rohingya camp in Kutupalong of Cox's Bazar also provided some relief materials to the refugees at the makeshift shelter in no man's land.

A team of Bangladesh Red Crescent Society also visited the site yesterday morning.

CHANGED ROUTE
In the first five days since last Friday, Rohingyas entered Bangladesh through the hills and land routes. However, since Tuesday, they are mostly crossing the border through 11 points of the Naf River, locals said.

The points include Anjman Para and Rahmater Beel of Ukhia, and Leda, Moulvibazar, Lambabil, Kanjarpara, Unichiaprang, Jhimangkhali, Ulubunia, Kharangkhali and Karainga of Teknaf.

Locals said the Rohingyas are taking river routes because of restrictions on the land points.

During a visit to Hoyaikong Kanjarpara around 11:00am yesterday, these correspondents found some 800 Rohingya men, women and children gathered by BGB.

Some of the Rohingyas said they crossed the Naf River by boats to reach Bangladesh in the wee hours yesterday. Each of them had to pay 10,000 Burmese kyat (Myanmar currency) to the boatmen.

Many in the villages along the borders, meanwhile, are providing temporary shelter and food to the Rohingyas before the refugees move to the unregistered camps in Leda, Balukhali and Kutupalong.

Haji Abdul Malek, a leader in Kanjarpara village, said some 3,000 Rohingyas entered Bangladesh through Kanjarpara point of the Naf River on Wednesday and Thursday night.

UNSC DISCUSSES ROHINGYA ISSUE
The UN Security Council on Wednesday discussed the violence in Myanmar though there was no formal statement from the 15-member council following the closed-door meeting.

British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft to the UN said there were calls from council members for de-escalation. "We all condemned the violence, we all called on all the parties to de-escalate," Rycroft told reporters.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Parliamentarians for Human Rights on Wednesday also called on Myanmar to take immediate action to protect civilians from violent clashes in Rakhine.

“The priority here must be civilian protection,” Indonesian MP Eva Kusuma Sundari said in a statement from Indonesia.

“Urgent measures must be taken by all parties to protect all individuals caught up in this violence, regardless of their ethnicity or citizenship.”

In March this year, China, backed by Russia, blocked a UN Security Council statement on Myanmar. Just a month before, the UN human rights office had accused the country's military of mass killing and rape of Rohingya Muslims.
http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/exodus-refugees-turns-fatal-1457023
 
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Rohingya Muslims vis-à-vis Suu Kyi’s cowardice
Consequent upon fresh spurt in violence the world is witnessing thousands of helpless victims of incontrovertible frenzied anti-Muslim brutal communal fire, racist pogrom and ethnic cleansing in the border of Bangladesh perpetrated by the Myanmar’s military. There the starving emaciated hapless men, women and children had to run for their life, leaving their hearth and home as wretched victims of attacks by violent followers of Gautama Budddha who preached peace, harmony, fraternity, altruism and humanism.

The Rohingya Muslims of Arakan supported Suu Kyi’s candidates and they won all the 23 seats in 1991. A befitting instance of gratitude (!) as it is, 26 years later in a reprehensible volte-face Suu Kyi has stabbed the minority Rohingya Muslims in the back by looking the other way. The Muslim villages are off-limits to media people. However, comprehensive reporting by Al-Jazeera, video footages of the BBC and other TV channels show abandoned homes, now occupied by Myanmar soldiers; and survivors report about murder, rape, arson and pogrom.

Rejected by the country they call home and unwanted by its neighbours, the Rohingya are impoverished, virtually stateless and have been fleeing Myanmar in droves and for decades. In recent months, tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh amid a military crackdown on insurgents in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state.

The statistics of the butchered and driven out Rohingyas in Myanmar should scare anybody—-in 1942 one lakh Rohingyas were reported killed; after 1948, massive exodus happened in large numbers; under racist General Ne Win several lakh of them took refuge in this country; another wave of influx into this country took place. In 1990, candidates of the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi won 392 of the 485 seats in Myanmar parliament; in 1991, as many as 250,877 Rohingyas were forced out from Arakan into Bangladesh.

More than a dozen fellow Nobel laureates wrote an open letter to the UN Security Council in December 2016, warning of a tragedy “amounting to ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity” in Rakhine, citing the “potential for genocide”.

Myanmar’s leader, also a Nobel peace prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi told Fergal Keane of BBC News on 6 April 2017, “No ethnic cleansing of Myanmar Muslim minority is happening. ” As regards recurrent massacres and killings by the Burmese military in the Muslim-majority Arakan region, Suu Kyi refused to accept that there was ethnic cleansing and other brutalities, the BBC reported on 6 April 2017. She is facing international criticism for her government’s handling of a crisis in the Muslim-majority Rakhine region, where soldiers have blocked access for aid workers and are accused of raping and killing civilians. Ludicrously enough, she told the BBC, “It’s Muslims killing Muslims as well. If they think they are co-operating with the authorities.”

Suu Kyi refused numerous opportunities in 2013 to condemn a group of hardline Buddhist monks who were spreading hatred against the country’s Muslims. She did not object when, before the 2015 polls, election authorities decided that Rohingya Muslims would be summarily denied the right to vote. Her party even purged its party list of Muslim candidates, in what was widely interpreted as an attempt to defuse criticism from the country’s Buddhist hardliners. [Vide “Is This the Real Aung San Suu Kyi? The Nobel laureate has shocked the world by failing to speak up for persecuted minorities. Some believe she is showing her true colours” by Jon Emont, New Republic, December 22, 2016.]

The second edition of Whitney Stewart’s biography “Aung San Suu Kyi: Fearless Voice of Burma” was printed in 2008. In view of Suu Kyi’s present heartless insensitivity towards the wretched plight of the minority Rohingya Muslims subjected to inhuman barbarity and ethnic cleansing, the author may consider revising his book with a changed title.

Before emerging as the singular leader Suu Kyi was described with a number of gleaming epithets such as Nobel peace laureate, democracy icon, human rights defender, champion of the Myanmar people etc, her total apathy to horrific human rights violations and ethnic cleansing of the minority Rohingya Muslims of Rakhaine region those phrases will sound like mockery.

However, Keith Harper, who served as former US President Barack Obama’s ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council, had these words to say about her:
“Unfortunately, what has become increasingly clear over the ensuing months, is that while Daw Suu Kyi was perfectly comfortable reaping benefits as a human rights icon for her own pro-democracy struggle, she is not prepared to display the political courage necessary to take a stand for an unpopular Muslim minority group and prevent the grave and systematic denial of their human rights.

For far too many, her iconic status as pro-democracy crusader makes it difficult to hold accountable a Suu Kyi-led government no matter the well-documented human rights violations…Her Nobel Prize has become a most awful kind of shield from proper scrutiny”. [Vide “The Cowardice of Aung San Suu Kyi: Is The Lady still a champion of rights and democracy?” by David Hutt, The Diplomat, March 01, 2017]
More than half of the 101 women interviewed by the UN reported either rape or sexual assault before fleeing Rakhine State—the youngest was 11 years old.
Sixty-four percent of those interviewed reporting burning or destruction of property while 37 percent said their own property had been stolen or looted.

Bangladesh has borne the brunt of literally unbearable burden of huge numbers of refugee influx for decades. As usual, the OIC is not active enough, except issuing statements. Will the fate of the Rohingya Muslims remain sealed?
http://www.weeklyholiday.net/Homepage/Pages/UserHome.aspx?ID=4&date=0#Tid=14669

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মূলধারা বাংলাদেশ
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আরাকানে গণহত্যা চলছে। ঐতিহাসিকভাবে আরাকান বাংলাদেশের অংশ
"A mega genocide is going on in Myanmar. Those who think Rohingyas are Bengalis from Chittagong are wrong, actually the bulk of the Chiitagonians are Rohingyas from Arakan.

The Chakma, Mogh, Larma, Marma, and other small nations are originally from Myanmar, NOT Adibashis or aborigines of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh should claim Arakan, which Barman Buddhist kings of Myanmar annexed in 1774.

Later the British occupied Myanmar in 1826, and recognized the status quo, i.e. Barman occupation of Arakan. After the Barman occupation of Arakan, tens of thousands of Muslim Rohingyas came to greater Chittagong and settled there. In 1935, the British separated Myanmar from British India. And in 1948 they left Myanmar, which became independent. So, what happened in 1774, 1826, 1935, and 1948 are important landmarks. Bangladesh just cannot sit idle and accept the status quo.

Since the large scale persecution, killing, and rape of Rohingyas in 1978, Bangladesh has every reason to protest, shelter the refugees, and claim Arakan in international forums, including the United Nations. In sum, Arakan is integral to Bangladesh. Bangladesh must claim Arakan. Bangladesh must be prepared to annex Arakan, if necessary, by force."

(Taj Hashmi, Facebook post, 30 August 2017). Taj Hashmi is an Internationally known Bengali Academic, based in Canada.

কাটা তারের বেড়া অতিক্রম করতে বাধ্য হচ্ছে শিশুরা। জীবনের ঝুঁকি নিয়ে জীবন বাচানোর চেষ্টা!

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01:12 PM, September 01, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 01:24 PM, September 01, 2017
400 die as Myanmar army steps up crackdown on Rohingya insurgents
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Rohingya refugees who crossed into Bangladesh territory by unguarded border points standing by the road in Ukhia upazila of Cox's Bazar. Photo: Anisur Rahman/Files
Reuters, Cox’s Bazar

Nearly 400 people have died in fighting that has rocked Myanmar's northwest for a week, new official data show, making it probably the deadliest bout of violence to engulf the country's Rohingya Muslim minority in decades.

Around 38,000 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar, United Nations sources said, a week after Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts and an army base in Rakhine state, prompting clashes and a military counteroffensive.

"As of August 31, 38,000 people are estimated to have crossed the border into Bangladesh," the officials said on Friday, in their latest estimate.

The army says it is conducting clearance operations against "extremist terrorists" and security forces have been told to protect civilians. But Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh say a campaign of arson and killings aims to force them out.

The treatment of Myanmar's roughly 1.1 million Rohingya is the biggest challenge facing national leader Aung San Suu Kyi, accused by some Western critics of not speaking out for a minority that has long complained of persecution.

The clashes and ensuing army crackdown have killed about 370 Rohingya insurgents, but also 13 security forces, two government officials and 14 civilians, the Myanmar military said on Thursday.

By comparison, communal violence in 2012 in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine, led to the killing of nearly 200 people and the displacement of about 140,000, most of them Rohingya.

The fighting is a dramatic escalation of a conflict that has simmered since October, when similar but much smaller Rohingya attacks on security posts prompted a brutal military response dogged by allegations of rights abuses.

Myanmar evacuated more than 11,700 "ethnic residents" from the area affected by fighting, the army said, referring to the non-Muslim population of northern Rakhine.

More than 150 Rohingya insurgents staged fresh attacks on security forces on Thursday near villages occupied by Hindus, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said, adding that about 700 members of such families had been evacuated.

"Four of the terrorists were arrested, including one 13-year-old boy," it said, adding that security forces had arrested two more men near a Maungdaw police outpost on suspicion of involvement in the attacks.

About 20,000 more Rohingya trying to flee are stuck in no man's land at the border, the U.N. sources said, as aid workers in Bangladesh struggle to alleviate the sufferings of a sudden influx of thousands of hungry and traumatised people.

While some Rohingya try to cross by land, others attempt a perilous boat journey across the Naf River separating the two countries.

Bangladesh border guards found the bodies of 15 Rohingya Muslims, 11 children among them, floating in the river on Friday, area commander Lt. Col. Ariful Islam told Reuters.

That takes to about 40 the total of Rohingya known to have died by drowning.
http://www.thedailystar.net/country...m_medium=newsurl&utm_term=all&utm_content=all
 
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