Myanmar abuses fuelling Rakhine violence, says UN rights chief

GENEVA: The UN rights chief on Tuesday said decades of “systematic” abuses against Rohingya Muslims were largely to blame for spiralling violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, insisting authorities could have prevented the bloodshed.

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein expressed alarm at the upsurge in fighting in Rakhine state neighbouring Bangladesh, which has been raging since Friday when Rohingya militants staged ambushes against Myanmar’s security forces.

More than 100 people, including around 80 militants, have been confirmed killed in the fightback, which has seen at least 8,700 Rohingya villagers fleeing for Bangladesh.

“I utterly condemn the violent attacks on security personnel, which have led to the loss of many lives and the displacement of thousands of people,” Zeid said in a statement.

But the rights chief stressed that the turn of events was not only “deplorable. It was predicted and could have been prevented.”

The Rohingya have in the past largely eschewed violence, but that changed last October when a nascent Rohingya militant group launched surprise attacks on border posts.

Myanmar’s military reacted with a violent “clearance operation”, which the United Nation has warned could amount to ethnic cleansing.

Zeid on Tuesday called for those who attacked security forces and civilians to be brought to justice, and urged all sides to stop fuelling the violence.