Myanmar sacks top general involved in Rohingya crackdown

YANGON: Myanmar’s military said it sacked a top general who was named in fresh EU sanctions against security officials accused of serious rights violations in the Rohingya crisis, including killings and sexual violence.

Myanmar is accused of waging a crackdown in Rakhine state that forced 700,000 to flee that the UN and major western powers have said amounts to “ethnic cleansing”.

Its leaders have come under fire for taking little punitive action against the military, which has maintained its troops were responding to attacks by Rohingya militants.

But the military said late Monday in a Facebook post that Major General Maung Maung Soe, the former head of the western command in Rakhine, had been “purged” for poor performance.

The announcement came after the EU said he was among seven security officials hit with travel bans and asset freezes, but Myanmar did not link his sacking to the new sanctions.

The Facebook post said Maung Maung Soe was first reassigned last November, and that his removal from his position in the western command was to “inspect his responsibility over his weakness while working for Rakhine state stability”.

Maung Maung Soe was also the target of US sanctions last year over the Rohingya crisis.

The statement added that Lieutenant General Aung Kyaw Zaw – commander of the bureau of special operations and also on the EU list – was permitted to resign in May for health reasons and “weakness in serving duty”.