Rohingya militants say ceasefire to end October 9
Rohingya militants whose attacks triggered an army crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine state unleashing a huge wave of refugees said yesterday their onemonth ceasefire would end in two days, but added they were open to peace if the government reciprocated.
In a statement released through its Twitter account, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) said its unilateral truce would end at midnight on October 9.
"The humanitarian pause was conducted in order to enable humanitarian actors to assess and respond to the humanitarian crisis inArakan (Rakhine)," the statement said. "If at any stage, the Burmese government is inclined to peace, then ARSA will welcome that inclination and reciprocate," it said, using the former name for Myanmar. It did not include any direct threats of new violence.
The armed group tipped northern Rakhine into crisis when it ambushed police posts on August 25. The army's reprisal has been so sweeping and savage that the UN says it likely amounts to ethnic cleansing of the Muslim minority, who have faced decades of persecution.
More than half a million Rohingya have fled into Bangladesh in six weeks, an exodus that has spiralled into one of the world's most urgent refugee crises. In its statement, ARSA said it had helped provide "safe passage" to refugees fleeing to Bangladesh.
While the worst of the bloodshed appears to have abated in recent weeks, tens of thousands of Rohingya continue to stream over to Bangladesh, passing through a violence-scarred region where hundreds of villages have been reduced to smouldering ash.