Burma military denies atrocities

BURMA’S military has issued its most forceful denial yet that security forces had committed atrocities during “clearance operations” in the country that have sparked the largest refugee crisis in Asia in decades.

In a statement yesterday, the military said it had interviewed thousands of people during its month-long investigation into the conduct of troops in western Rakhine state after Rohingya insurgents launched a series of attacks there on August 25.

While the report acknowledged battles against Rohingya militants, it claimed “there was no death of innocent people”.

Burma’s government says the Muslim minority migrated illegally from Bangladesh, and does not acknowledge the Rohingya as a local ethnic group.