Rohingya rebels declare month-long truce

ROHINGYA rebels, whose attack on Burma security forces last month triggered savage military reprisals, have declared a month-long truce as refugees continue to flood across the border into Bangladesh – and scant basic resources, hunger and illness.

The ragtag band of Muslim insurgents calling itself the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army issued the truce statement on its Twitter account and urged Burma’s government to reciprocate in order to assist all victims regardless of their background.

The rebels, who say they are fighting to protect their minority members against government-sponsored persecution, launched their first known attacks last October and again on August 25.

According to Rohingya refugees, the military responded with indiscriminate killings, burning entire villages and forcing tens of thousands to flee.

The government said most of the 400 dead were “terrorists”.

The United Nations said on Saturday that an estimated 290,000 Rohingya Muslims had arrived in the border district of Cox’s Bazar in just the last two weeks, joining at least 100,000 who were already there after fleeing earlier riots or persecution in Buddhist-majority Burma.

The number was expected to swell further, with thousands crossing the border each day.

Fights were erupting over food and water.

Women and children were tapping on car windows or tugging at the clothes of passing reporters while rubbing their bellies and begging for food. Health experts warned of the potential for outbreaks of disease.