Myanmar replaces general in charge of Rakhine operation

YANGON: Myanmar’s army has replaced the general in charge of Rakhine state following a military crackdown that has driven more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims into neighbouring Bangladesh amid reports of mass rape, torture and other crimes against humanity.

No reason was given why Major General Maung Maung Soe was transferred from his post as the head of Western Command in Rakhine, where Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, launched a sweeping counterinsurgency operation in August.

“I don’t know the reason why he was transferred,” Major General Aye Lwin, deputy director of the psychological warfare and public relation department at the Ministry of Defence, told Reuters.

“He wasn’t moved into any position at present, he has been put in reserve.”

The move comes ahead of visit tomorrow by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who is expected to deliver a stern message to Myanmar’s generals, over whom national leader Aung San Suu Kyi, criticised in the West for failing to halt the atrocities, has little control.

Senators in Washington are pressing to pass legislation imposing economic and travel sanctions targeting the military and its business interests.

Leaders of Asian nations meeting in Manila on Monday skirted around the mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims, disappointing human rights groups who were hoping for a tough stand on the crisis. — Reuters