Myanmar police shoot four in raid on Rohingya camp

YANGON: Myanmar police shot and injured four Rohingya Muslims yesterday, after detaining two men accused of smuggling people out of a camp for displaced people in western Rakhine state, a witness and police told Reuters.

Some 20 policemen entered Ah Nauk Ye camp, about 15km east of the state capital Sittwe early yesterday, apprehending the two men accused of owning a boat used in an attempt to smuggle 106 Rohingya out of the country on Friday.

The rickety vessel, which carried 25 children among its passengers, had been bound for Malaysia when authorities stopped it south of Yangon, detaining those on board.

The incident, and similar recent boat departures, have raised fears of a fresh wave of dangerous voyages after a 2015 regional crackdown on people smugglers.

Maung Maung Aye, a 27-year-old Rohingya from the camp who witnessed the shooting, said four people were injured in the incident, with two of them in serious condition.

“People from the camp went out to look and police shot at people,” he told Reuters by phone.

Police said the Rohingya surrounded them with swords and threw stones at them, injuring some officers.

“I heard that Bengali from the camp tried to grab the arrested people back from the police and police had to fire warning shots,” said police inspector Than Htay from a nearby police station. “I heard some Bengali got injured. “I don’t know the details.” Many people in Myanmar call the Rohingya “Bengali”, implying they are interlopers from Bangladesh.

Maung Maung Aye disputed that version of events, saying the Rohingya did not attack the police or try to grab the arrested men.

He said police fired at residents and not into the sky.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay did not answer calls seeking comment.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya have been confined to camps outside Sittwe since violence swept Rakhine in 2012. – Reuters