Rohingya hit by poverty, violence
Hemmed in by Myanmar security forces and menaced by abductions and killings, Rohingya Muslims in a conflict-scarred corner of Rakhine State say fear is one of the few constants in their lives. Last week, foreign media were given partial access to the isolated wedge of the northwestern state for the first time since security forces launched a monthslong operation to root out militants who attacked border police posts.
The UN wants to establish if that campaign amounted to ethnic cleansing after accounts of mass rape, killing and arson emerged from Rohingya who fled to neighbouring Bangladesh.
For those left behind in the rattanwalled frontier villages the violence and insecurity is unrelenting, locals told reporters, under the watch of Myanmar border forces who steered the visit.
“Our husbands are on the run. They left us because they are afraid of border guard police,” a Rohingya woman said.
The large-scale military operation has abated but the area remains in lockdown, with sporadic killings by military patrols still intent on rooting out “terrorists”.
The UN believes hundreds may have died in what may be the bloodiest chapter of Myanmar’s years-long persecution of the Rohingya Muslims. The minority are widely reviled illegal migrants from Bangladesh, as to be connected to, authorities”.
In an area stained by mistrust and rumour, it is unclear who is behind the attacks — and the fear is intensifying in the face of almost daily reports of killings.
Earlier this month unidentified men dragged father-of-six Atthu Suwan from the bed he was sharing with his wife in Maung Hnama village.
They stabbed the 44-year-old, who occasionally worked as a translator for local officials, and carried his body into the darkness, his family and friends told reporters on the government-run press trip.
The government blames the attacks on the self-styled Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a newly formed Rohingya militant group.
The group denies any involvement, instead accusing the military in statements issued through an unverified Twitter account.
Rohingya escapees shared harrowing accounts of security officers slaughtering babies, burning people alive and gang-raping women — abuses UN investigators said may amount to crimes against humanity.
The army denies the claims and says its response was proportionate in the face of terrorist interlopers.
Myanmar has refused to cooperate with the probe, denying the investigators visas. although many Rohingya families say their ancestors have lived in the area for generations.
Now a new peril has emerged: scores of local men have been abducted and murdered by unknown gangs, with state media reporting they are dressed in black and often wearing masks.
Authorities say the assassins are targeting leaders from the Muslim minority and anyone perceived to be a state collaborator. They blame Rohingya militants for the murders.
International Crisis Group analyst Richard Horsey says some 60 people may have been targeted in a “systematic” campaign “to take out Muslims who are in some way connected to, or perceived