Fresh violence kills 71 in Myanmar’s Rakhine State
maungdaw — At least 71 people including 12 security forces were killed as Rohingya militants besieged border posts in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar’s authorities said Friday — the worst violence in months to hit the febrile zone.
The state is bisected by religious hatred focused on the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority, who are reviled by many Buddhists and perceived as illegal immigrants.
Recent weeks have seen tensions surge with near daily killings by shadowy groups operating in remote villages, while Myanmar’s army has poured more troops into the area sparking a renewed exodus of refugees.
In the early hours of Friday more than 20 police posts came under attack by an estimated 150 insurgents, some carrying guns and using homemade explosives, Myanmar’s military said. “Fighting is ongoing at police posts in Kyar Gaung Taung and Nat Chaung villages. The military and police members are fighting back together against extremist terrorists.”
The office of de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said 12 security officials had been killed alongside 59 militants.
One resident in Maungdaw, the main town in northern Rakhine, said gunfire could be heard throughout the night.
“We are still hearing gunshots now, we dare not to go out from our house,” the resident said by phone, asking not to be named.
Despite years of persecution, the Rohingya largely eschewed violence.
But a previously unknown militant group emerged as a force last October under the banner of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which claims to be leading an insurgency based in the remote May Yu mountain range bordering Bangladesh.
A Twitter account which frequently posts purportedly from the group — @ARSA_official — on Friday morning confirmed its fighters were engaging Myanmar’s military in Rathedaung township. —