Army probe into Rakhine may clear troops of abuses

YANGON: Myanmar’s military said it is investigating its operations in violence-wracked Rakhine State, where the United Nations has accused troops of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against Rohingya Muslims.

In the last seven weeks, more than half a million Rohingya have fled Rakhine and crossed into Bangladesh, shocking the world with accounts of Myanmar soldiers and Buddhist mobs murdering and raping civilians before torching their villages.

Chaos began when Rohingya militants attacked Myanmar police posts on Aug 25, triggering the brutal military crackdown.

The latest UN probe accused the military of leading a “systematic” effort to expel the maligned minority and block their return to the mainly Buddhist country.

The army, which has a long history of “scorched-earth” counterinsurgency campaigns, had steadfastly denied the charges, while also blocking independent access to the conflict zone.

It is preparing to publish results of its internal investigation into the conflict, according to statements released on Friday.

“An investigation team led by Defence Services Inspector-General Lieutenant-General Aye Win is inspecting security forces and military units (to see) whether they perform the assigned duties,” said the army’s True News Information Team.

“When full information is received, the official press release will be released.”

A separate post on army chief General Min Aung Hlaing’s Facebook page suggested troops would be cleared of abuses, saying: “It was found that all actions conformed to the law.

“Many witnesses were questioned. Investigations were carried out as to how such incidents happened, how many casualties there were and whether those incidents