‘Beheaded and burned alive’
> Witnesses give horrific accounts of violence in Myanmar
YANGON: Rohingya children have been beheaded and civilians burned alive, according to witness testimony amid claims that Myanmar’s military and paramilitary forces are committing “genocide” or a “pogrom” against the Muslim minority in the country’s western Rakhine state.
Around 60,000 refugees are believed to have fled over the country’s western border into Bangladesh in just a week following a clampdown on Rohingya militants.
British foreign secretary Boris Johnson called for the violence to end, saying the treatment of the Rohingyas was “besmirching the reputation of Myanmar” and appealing to State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi to act.
“I hope she can now use all her remarkable qualities to unite her country, to stop the violence and to end the prejudice that afflicts both Muslims and other communities in Rakhine,” he said.
Observers believe the number of displaced is likely to increase.
The Myanmar military said 400 militants had been killed in clashes with their forces.
Civilians who escaped gave horrific accounts of violence and destruction by government soldiers and other armed groups.
A man named as Abdul Rahman, 41, said he had survived a five-hour attack on Chut Pyin village.
He told Fortify Rights, a charity working in the area, that a group of Rohingya men had been rounded up and detained in a bamboo hut, which was then set on fire.
“My brother was killed, (Myanmar soldiers) burned him with the group. We found (my other family members) in the fields.
“They had marks on their bodies from bullets and some had cuts.
“My two nephews, their heads were off. One was six years old and the other was nine years old. My sister-in-law was shot with a gun.”
Another man from the same village, named as Sultan Ahmed, 27, told the charity: “Some people were beheaded, and many were cut.
“We were in the house hiding when (armed residents from a neighbouring village) were beheading people.
“When we saw that, we just ran out the back of the house.”
Survivors from other villages in the region also described seeing people being beheaded or having their throats cut.
“We can’t stress enough the urgency of the situation,” Fortify Rights head Matthew Smith said.
“The Myanmar authorities are failing to protect civilians and save lives. International pressure is critically needed,” he said.
Satellite imagery released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) showed 700 buildings burned down in another Rohingya village, Chein Khar Li.
“This new satellite imagery shows the total destruction of a Muslim village, and prompts serious concerns that the level of devastation in northern Rakhine State may be far worse than originally thought,” HRW deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said.
Francis Wade, author of a book about violence against Rohingyas, said on Twitter: “What’s happening in Myanmar can be dressed up as counter-insurgency campaign, but in design and purpose, it’s a pogrom and has popular support.” – The Independent