Women, Children Among Hundreds Slaughtered In Village ‘Massacre’
There are reports scores of Muslim Rohingyas — including women and children — have been killed by Myanmar security forces and Buddhist vigilantes in a surge of ethnic violence. The ABC has received specific allegations from two separate sources about mass killings in the village of Chut Pyin, near Rathedaung township in western Myanmar. “So far reports — I think quite credible — mention about 130 people including women and children killed,” said Chris Lewa, director of The Arakan Project, which works with Rohingya communities.
“That happened on Sunday when suddenly security forces cordoned [off] the whole area, together with Rakhine villagers ... it seems like this has been a major massacre in Rathedaung,” Ms Lewa said. Simmering communal tensions erupted last Friday when an insurgent group attacked police posts, killing 12 officers.
Security forces said they had killed at least 80 militants, but there are reports of widespread killing and arson across Rakhine State, in Myanmar’s west.
A video provided to the ABC by a human rights monitor purportedly shows Chut Pyin village burning and in another clip mounds of freshly dug earth — allegedly the graves of those killed.
“This is where the dead bodies from Chut Pyin village were buried … they buried 10-20 bodies, putting two to three bodies in each pit,” an unidentified man on the video said. The graves were allegedly dug on Sunday night in the village of Ah Htet Nan Yar, south of Chut Pyin, with more bodies burned by security forces.
Access to the area is blocked to foreign media so the ABC cannot independently verify the video or the allegations.
The ABC has requested comment from the Myanmar Government. In Myanmar, hatred for Rohingyas runs deep and periodically boils over into violence. Rohingyas are a Muslim minority in a majority Buddhist country. The 1.1 million Rohingyas in Rakhine State are denied citizenship and live under apartheid-like conditions, despite many families living in Myanmar for generations.