Myanmar Army investigating mass grave in Rakhine
Myanmar’s Army said it is investigating a mass grave found in a village in northern Rakhine state, a region where the UN has accused troops of committing atrocities against Rohingya Muslims.
Northern Rakhine has been nearly emptied of its Muslim population since late August, when an army crackdown on the Rohingya sent more than 655,000 refugees fleeing across the border to Bangladesh, AFP reported.
The UN, US and rights groups have accused Myanmar of carrying out a systematic ethnic cleansing campaign against the Muslim minority, with Doctors Without Borders estimating that at least 6,700 Rohingya were killed in the first month of violence.
On Tuesday Human Rights Watch released a report detailing the army’s “systematic killings and rape” of hundreds of Rohingya in Tula Toli village in northern Rakhine on August 30, adding new testimony to an event that has been documented by journalists and rights groups based on accounts from refugees.
But Myanmar’s Army has denied all allegations of abuse – while severely curtailing access to the conflict zone in northern Rakhine.
A statement posted on the army chief’s Facebook page late Monday said a tip-off led officers to “unidentified dead bodies found at a cemetery in Inn Dinn village,” a community in Rakhine’s Maungdaw township – the epicenter of the violence.
It did not specify how many corpses were found or what community they belong to.
“Strong legal action will be taken if any member of security forces are involved,” the statement added.
Officials could not be reached for comment.
Refugees to start returning from January
Bangladesh and Myanmar on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to begin repatriating Rohingya refugees from January, despite rights groups warning that their safety is still not assured should they return.
The foreign secretaries of Bangladesh and Myanmar met in Dhaka to finalize the agreement signed on November 23 for the voluntary return of nearly three-quarters of a million Rohingya living in refugee camps along the border.
A new working group would “ensure commencement of repatriation within two months” by developing a timetable for the verification of refugee identities and logistics of their return, Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“Now, we will start the next step of our work,” Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali told reporters after the meeting.
The reaffirmation came a day after Human Rights Watch, citing analysis of satellite imagery, said Myanmar’s Army burned down dozens of Rohingya homes within days of signing the repatriation deal with Bangladesh.
The watchdog said the deal was “a public relations stunt” and warned it contained no guarantee the Rohingya would be safe should they return to Myanmar’s conflict-wracked Rakhine state.