Jeddah—The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has expressed grave concern at the eruption of violence in Rakhine state following attacks by unidentified insurgents against Myanmar border facilities on October a which resulted in the deaths of several security personnel and insurgents. The OIC calls for a full investigation into the incident to determine the perpetrators in order to bring them to justice.

The OIC has received disturbing reports of extra judicial killings of Rohingya Muslims, burning of houses, and arbitrary arrests by security forces in Maungdaw Township and other villages in Northern Rakhine State. The situation has caused many Rohingya to flee their villages and the subsequent blockade in the region has also left many in the area facing acute shortages of food, water and essentials.

The OIC Secretary General, Mr. Iyad Ameen Madani appealed for calm and called on all stakeholders to apply maximum restraint, refrain from the use of violence and to avoid an escalation of the situation. He urged the Government of Myanmar to provide full protection to Rohingya people in Northern Rakhine state.

Mr Madani further expressed concern that the volatile situation and continued violence will only prolong the plight of Rohingya people and further polarise the Muslim and Buddhist Rakhine communities in the state. The Secretary General noted that it is only through dialogue and reconciliation with all members of society, including the Rohingya, that Myanmar could achieve true development and socio-economic progress.

The report published by Pakistan Observer on October 14, 2016.

RB News

Rohingya houses burning in Pyaung Pyaik hamlet in Nga Sa Kyu village on Thursday

By Kyaw Ye Lynn

Anadolu Agency

October 13, 2016

Deaths reported by military bring number of people killed since weekend attacks on police outposts in Rakhine to 39

YANGON, Myanmar -- At least 10 more men have been killed by Myanmar soldiers in response to an assault by armed attackers during military clearance operations in the troubled western state of Rakhine, official media claimed Thursday.

The latest reported deaths would bring the number of people killed since deadly weekend attacks on police station outposts in Myanmar's west to 39 -- including nine police, four soldiers and 26 men. 

The raided outposts were located in Maungdaw and Yathay Taung townships, two areas predominantly occupied by the country's stateless Rohingya Muslim population.

The army-run Myawady newspaper reported Thursday that people armed with guns, swords and sticks attacked troops who were searching near Kyetyoepyin Village on Wednesday for weapons stolen in the weekend raids.

“Ten dead bodies of armed attackers and a gun were found after the violent exchange,” it said.

According to the report, a group of armed men also attacked the staff quarters of No.1 border post near Kyikanpyin Village in Maungtaw Township on Wednesday.

The attackers then set fire to Warpaik Village in the township, destroying around 25 houses, before withdrawing in a southeast direction, it said.

A 74-year-old Rohingya man, however, accused the troops of discriminatory actions against villagers.

“They asked us where the attackers are hiding. We told them no one is hiding in our village,” he told Anadolu Agency by phone Thursday on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisals.

“An army captain shouted at us -- ‘Son of the b****. You are lying to us’ -- and ordered the troops to set our house on fire,” he said. 

The man, originally a resident of Warpaik who is now in Kyetyoepyin after his home was destroyed, added that around 50 houses were burned Wednesday in his village.

In the wake of the initial attacks on three police stations in Maungdaw and Yathay Taung -- both close to the Bangladesh border -- early Sunday, at least 39 people -- nine police, four soldiers and 26 men -- have been killed. 

On Tuesday, a senior police officer in state capital Sittwe underlined to Anadolu Agency by phone that the two men captured during the initial attacks were not from the area. 

“They are neither Myanmar nationals nor local Bengalis,” said the man, using a word to describe Rohingya that suggests they are illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

He declined to comment, however, if they were Bangladesh citizens. 

“It’s not the right time to disclose the country and organization they belong to,” said the officer, who asked not to be named as he did not have the authority to speak to media.

“They [the men] said local Bengalis helped them as they are angry over government plans to demolish mosques in the areas.”

Last month, Rakhine regional government pledged to tear down more than 3,000 religious structures, including 12 mosques and 35 madrasas (religious schools) built without permission in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships.

Later Tuesday, the central government asked Bangladesh for help with the investigation.

Since the attacks began, an overnight curfew (7 p.m. - 6 a.m.) has been imposed, around 400 government schools temporarily closed, and all border trade gates and crossings with neighboring Bangladesh shuttered.

Maungdaw and Yathay Taungare are still governed by a partial curfew (11 p.m. - 4 a.m.) placed since communal violence between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya broke out in mid-2012 in which around 100 people are reported to have died.

Rohingya advocacy groups have also voiced concern at what they claim is a violent crackdown on the Muslim minority group.

"Mass arrests are taking place," a statement released late Monday headlined Stop Killing Innocent Rohingya in Arakan (the British colonial name for Rakhine) said.

It claimed that following the attacks more than 10 "innocent" Rohingya were killed by Myanmar military forces and police and many Rohingya women had also been arrested.

Since mid-2012, Rakhine, one of the poorest regions in Myanmar, has been subject to incidents of communal violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya that have left nearly 100 dead and some 100,000 people displaced in camps.

On Oct. 3, Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi called on Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states for support in solving the “complex situation” in Rakhine, home to around 1.2 million Rohingya.

Since her party's victory in the Nov. 8 election, Suu Kyi has been placed under tremendous international pressure to solve problems faced by Rohingya but has had to play a careful balancing act for fear of upsetting the country's nationalists, many of whom have accused Muslims of trying to eradicate the country's Buddhist traditions.

Suu Kyi has, however, enforced the notion that the root of many of the impoverished region's problems are economic, and is encouraging investment in the area, which in turn the National League for Democracy hopes will lead to reconciliation between the Buddhist and Muslim communities.

ARBITRARY EXECUTIONS IN RAKHINE STATE MUST BE INVESTIGATED

Date: October 12, 2016

Burma Campaign UK calls on the NLD-led government in Burma to establish an independent investigation into who is behind the killings of police officers in Rakhine State on October 9th, and into the subsequent killings of Rohingya villagers in the following days. The families of policemen killed and Rohingya villagers killed have the right to see the perpetrators face justice.

Burma Campaign UK has received reports of arbitrary executions of Rohingya villagers by Burmese Army soldiers, as have Fortify Rights and several media organisations.

A prompt and credible investigation is needed not just in the interests of justice, but also to establish the truth in order to help limit attempts by nationalists to exploit the situation to provoke more violence. An investigation could also help limit further executions by demonstrating a small degree of accountability for soldiers via an investigation exposing their actions, even if prosecutions are not possible without the consent of the military.

Burma Campaign UK is very concerned by the response of the international community to date. A statement on the situation by the European Union made no reference to reports of arbitrary executions. Silence on issues such as this simply reinforces the view of the military that it can act with impunity. The role of the European Union is not only to “stand with Myanmar” as they say in their statement, but also to stand with victims of human rights violations and against violations of international law.

A statement by the UN Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General on Myanmar was even more alarming, going so far as to praise the response, stating he “recognizes the prompt action and sober response of the security forces”, and also avoiding direct reference to reports of arbitrary executions.

A statement by UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar “expressed to the authorities her condolences for the death of the border guard police personnel and is deeply saddened by all loss of life”. Reports of arbitrary executions were only indirectly referred in the statement to as an “unfolding situation”.

None of the statements used the word Rohingya, a key demand of racist nationalists who are trying to deny the ethnic identity of the Rohingya as part of their efforts to drive all Rohingya people out of Burma.

The new crisis in Rakhine State highlights how the new NLD-led government is hamstrung and unable to comprehensively deal with many problems in the country, if it wanted to, by the military 2008 Constitution. It does not have direct control over the military, police and other security services.

The international community has been trying to present the situation in Burma as moving from being focussed on democracy promotion and human rights to one of consolidating transition, development, and technical assistance. The situation in Rakhine State and escalating conflict in eastern Burma expose how flawed this approach is. The military remain unaccountable, are blocking democratic reform, escalating conflict, and committing human rights violations including violations of international law.

The British government should reassess its provision of training to the Burmese Army in light of these latest reports of arbitrary executions by soldiers. The training was established with no preconditions on respect for human rights, no clear objectives and no evaluation of outcomes.

“A transparent and credible investigation is urgently needed into events in Rakhine State in the past few days,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK. “While it is not yet clear exactly who was responsible for killing the police officers, it does seem clear that unarmed villagers have been killed in response. The Rakhine Commission was a welcome step but is largely looking at long term solutions and won’t even report until well into next year. The new crisis also highlights how action to address the crisis in Rakhine State needs to start now, including the lifting of all humanitarian aid restrictions.”

Burma Campaign UK

By Clea Broadhurst

Radio France International

October 12, 2016

A total of 29 people have died in Myanmar's Rakhine state in recent clashes between armed men and troops, according to state media. The military has been deployed to the region, near the border with Bangladesh, after nine police officers were killed on Sunday in coordinated attacks on three border posts

Most people in the area are Muslim Rohingya, a stateless minority people viewed as illegal immigrants by Buddhist nationalists even though many have lived in Myanmar for generations.

The government says that at least 250 people, presumed to be Muslims, launched coordinated attacks on three border police posts in Rakhine state over the last few days and has sent troops to the area.

These are the first major attacks since 2012, when sectarian violence in Rakhine killed more than 100 people and drove tens of thousands of Rohingya into displacement camps.

"Since the attack, we have documented several videos showing armed men - some had guns, some had sticks and swords - speaking the Rohingya language and encouraging volunteers to come engage in armed conflict in Rakhine State," Matthew Smith from Fortify Rights, a non-profit human rights organisation, told RFI.

"This is a very serious situation unfolding there. The government of Myanmar has commenced with what appear to be a very brutal crackdown, we're documenting allegations of extrajudicial killings. Essentially the Myanmar army moving into villages, suspecting all of the men and boys of being involved with this rather small group of armed men and committing a variety of human rights violation."

The authorities have extended a regional curfew to between 7.00pm and 6.00am and closed about 400 schools for the next two weeks.

Fears of return to 2012 violence

"For years now we've tried to fight for our rights, but the government has always wanted to wipe the Rohingya population out," Ro Nay San Lwin, a Rohingya activist who lives in exile in Germany since being banned from returning to Myanmar because of his political activities, told RFI. 

"That situation won't change, Rohingya will be more persecuted because they blame the Rohingya for these attacks. Their situation is worse than ever. And people who are depending on daily wages cannot any more, so now many people are starving, just because they cannot go to work, they cannot go from one village to another, they all are locked inside their own villages."

Witnesses have told him that at least 50 people were killed and several mass graves have been discovered.

"We are very concerned, and afraid of attacks that would particularly target the Rohingya civilians," Wai Wai Nu, a former political prisoner and cofounder of Yangon-based Justice for Women says. "There has been many hate speeches among the general population in Myanmar. Right now, we are worried that the situation could get worse than in 2012."

There are also concerns the military response could provoke a backlash, not only from the Rohingya but also from other Muslim ethic minorities in the region.

"The biggest potential problem is that we now have a well-organised, heavily armed Muslim groupd that will be fighting for its rights in Rakhine. That will be deeply destabilising," Tim Johnston, from the International Crisis Group, told RFI.

"Myanmar is a new democracy, its institutions aren't that strong, it has a number of other ethnic battles up on its north-eastern border and elsewhere, and this will make life a lot more complicated for the government. And one thing that we do really worry about is that it will provoke a backlash against Muslims, not just in Rakhine State, but across Myanmar."

Suu Kyi appoints commission

Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, recently appointed a commission, headed by the former UN chief Kofi Annan, to find ways to solve the issue.

But it is difficult to know what is actually happening on the ground because the authorities are preventing access to the area.

For example, journalists can hardly enter Rakhine, a point that Matthew Smith believes should change.

"The government frankly has quite a lot to hide, in particular in Rakhine state," he says.

A report from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein in June talked of Rohingya suffering "arbitrary deprivation of nationality, severe restrictions on freedom of movement, threats to life and security, denial of rights to health and education, forced labour, sexual violence and limitations to their political rights".

"None of this coincides with the narrative of positive political change happening in Myanmar and we do expect the authorities to act urgenty in this case," Smith comments, adding that he is concerned that Annan explicity said the commission would not focus on human rights issues in Rakhine.

This alone raises the question of the very goal of the commission's work, he claims.

By Dr Azeem Ibrahim

Huffington Post

October 12, 2016

I have written numerous newspaper pieces on the fate of the Rohingya in recent years, and even published a book on this, “the most oppressed people in the world”, this summer. Yet for all they have endured for the last decades, and especially in the last few years, the scariest part of their lives is not that as many as half of them have been displaced from Myanmar, the country of their birth, and many of the rest are now in internally displaced people’s camps inside the country, in appalling conditions. The scariest part, rather, is what might happen next. 

With these people so widely reviled by the Buddhist nationalists in their home state of Rakhine/Arakan and throughout the Union of Myanmar, and with them currently being in such precarious conditions, they are teetering on the edge of outright genocide. They have been ever since the outbursts of communal violence in 2012 and 2013 which have caused to largest amount of damage to their communities and triggered the regional South East Asian Migration Crisis last year. And ever since, we have been dreading what might happen if some random event triggers a new wave of violence from their Rakhine neighbours, or indeed, from the police and security agencies of the state. 

Such a trigger may have just been pulled. Nine police officers were killed and several others injured in attacks on border guard posts near the border with Bangladesh on Sunday, 9 October. And the Rohingya were collectively declared guilty of the attacks, despite there being no evidence that the attackers were, in fact Rohingya. Nevermind which individuals, Rohingya or otherwise, might have been the actual perpetrators. The collective punishment heaped on the Rohingya by state institutions such as the police and army was swift. Twenty-four innocent Rohingya were killed just on Monday, and the numbers seem to be escalating as we speak.

What is worse, though these extra-judicial killings have been carried out by local state agencies, the federal forces of the government of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi are not intervening to stop them and re-establish the rule of law. And if the Rohingya finally give up hope that anyone else might stand up to defend them, they may well end up taking their defence in their own hands. At which point, this can only escalate into an orgy of violence at least as bad as 2012, and perhaps even the outbreak of all-out inter-communal fighting. Not that the Rohingya have the resources to fight such a fight - they will be slaughtered en masse.

Ever since Aung San Suu Kyi came to power late last year, there has been at least some hope that the country can start making some progress on the situation of the Rohingya. Indeed, her government has been successfully pressured by the international community to establish a Commission for this purpose headed by former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan. Just in the last couple of months I have written with cautious optimism that things finally looked like they might be moving in the right direction. But now the situation has changed completely - we now look to back on the precipice, and the trigger may have just been pulled. 

There is no time to lose! We cannot afford to dither. Our leaders must force the federal government of Myanmar to intervene and re-establish order now! Before we have another Rwanda on our hands. And we must make direct contact with our elected representatives to make them aware of the situation and urge them to action. Aung San Suu Kyi must be stirred into action, and if she is not willing, or able, to intervene swiftly, then it is time to deploy UN peacekeepers with or without her consent. If we do not, this will not be just on her. This will be on us too!

Dr Azeem Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Policy and author of “The Rohingyas: Inside Myanmar’s Hidden Genocide“ (Hurst Publishers & Oxford University Press).

Myanmar: Protect Civilians in Rakhine State, Investigate Fatal Shootings

Extrajudicial Killings and Abuses Undercut Security in Rakhine State

(YANGON, October 12, 2016)—The government of Myanmar should protect civilians and respect human rights in responding to recent deadly attacks against police by unknown assailants near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, Fortify Rights said today. According to eyewitnesses, Myanmar Army soldiers allegedly killed several unarmed ethnic-Rohingya men on October 10, a day after deadly attacks on three police stations in Rakhine State’s Maungdaw Township.

Fears of a military offensive and potential indiscriminate killings and other abuses, particularly targeting the Rohingya Muslim population, are mounting in Rakhine State.

“The army has a responsibility to protect civilians regardless of religion or ethnicity,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Fortify Rights. “The authorities can diffuse this situation by upholding law and order while also protecting the rights of Rohingya.”

According to Myanmar authorities, a group of Rohingya men attacked three police posts on October 9, killing nine policemen and wounding five before fleeing with police weapons and ammunition.

Fortify Rights obtained two amateur videos—one minute and 21 seconds in length and another lasting two minutes and 51 seconds—showing a group of men armed with military-grade assault rifles and handguns, speaking the Rohingya language and calling for volunteers to engage in armed conflict in Rakhine State. “The fighting can start now, today,” a Rohingya speaker, flanked by young armed men, says into the camera in one of the films. “The Myanmar Army tried to search for us by helicopter yesterday. They searched for us by helicopters in every part of Rakhine. We do not care about helicopters.”

The reference to helicopters suggests the film was created on or around October 9, when, according to state media, the Myanmar Army used helicopters to move troops into the area where the attacks on the police occurred. On the same day, the authorities also banned gatherings of five or more people and imposed a curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. in Maungdaw Township.

Fortify Rights has received reports of possible extrajudicial killings of Rohingya men in Maungdaw Township by Myanmar Army soldiers following the attacks on the police and called on the government, state security forces, and all parties in Rakhine State to respect human rights and uphold the responsibility to protect civilians.

According to information received by Fortify Rights, scores of Myanmar Army soldiers arrived in Myothugyi village, Maungdaw Township at approximately 6:30 a.m. on October 10.

“Ishmael M.,” 23, told Fortify Rights that he witnessed a Myanmar Army soldier fatally shoot an unarmed local Rohingya man named Nagu, believed to be around 50 years old, in Myothugyi village at approximately 8 a.m. on October 10. Ishmael looked on from a nearby home as four Myanmar Army soldiers apprehended Nagu, who was reportedly unarmed.

“I was watching from the window,” Ishmael told Fortify Rights. “The military man was talking on the phone. After that, he shot him. I saw them shoot him in the bottom of the face and head.”

Following the fatal shooting, Myanmar Army soldiers left the body behind.

Fortify Rights received photographs and a short video of the victim’s body, showing what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head, matching descriptions received from two eyewitnesses. At time of writing, the victim’s body has not been buried and is located in a local home.

Ishmael also told Fortify Rights that another man, Noor Allam—believed to be approximately 55 years old—was also fatally shot at approximately 10 a.m., nearby Ishmael’s location. “We could hear some noises, bullets, and when the army left, we saw the body, and I helped bring the body inside the home,” Ishmael told Fortify Rights. “There was blood on his chest. I took a photo of the body myself.”

Ishmael said he carried the body of Noor Allam to a nearby home.

Fortify Rights received information of at least three killings of Rohingya men in Myothugyi village on October 10—the third was a 25-year-old Rohingya man named Noor Bashar.

“They took three men...and killed them,” another Rohingya man in Myothugyi said. “They did not arrest the people, they just killed them.”

The New York Times and Reuters reported allegations of seven deaths in Myothugyi village on October 10. Both outlets reported witnesses alleging that army soldiers shot at Rohingya as they ran away. The New York Times quoted a local journalist traveling with security forces in Myothugyi at the time, who claimed, “Three suspects were killed as they ran away when the security forces entered the village.” On Facebook, the journalist who spoke to the New York Times later denied the quote, saying he was “in trouble” as a result of the article and now alleges that the victims attacked the soldiers “and soldiers shot them back.”

The Government of Myanmar should conduct a thorough, independent investigation into the killings of police officers on October 9 and into the fatal shootings of Rohingya on October 10, Fortify Rights said.

The use of lethal force by state security forces against a civilian is only lawful when necessary to prevent loss of life and serious injury and when proportionate to the threat at hand. The U.N. Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials stipulates that the “intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.” The U.N. Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials requires officials to “use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty.”

In situations of armed conflict, Article 42 of the Third Geneva Convention stipulates that the use of force “against those who are escaping or attempting to escape, shall constitute an extreme measure, which shall always be preceded by warnings appropriate to the circumstances.”

In all situations, under international humanitarian and human rights law, the authorities have a responsibility to protect civilians.

There are more than one million Rohingya in northern Rakhine State, nearly all of whom are denied citizenship and are stateless. For decades, the Government of Myanmar has strictly restricted Rohingya freedom of movement, preventing movement between villages, village tracts, and beyond.

In June, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights reported to the Human Rights Council that there was a “pattern of gross human rights violations” against Rohingya in Rakhine State that “would suggest a widespread or systematic attack against the Rohingya, in turn suggesting the possible commission of crimes against humanity.”

In February 2014, Fortify Rights published a 79-page report, Policies of Persecution, documenting widespread and systematic human rights violations against Rohingya in northern Rakhine State, including the rights to nondiscrimination, freedom of movement, marriage, family, health, and privacy. In October 2015, the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School found “strong evidence” to establish the elements of the crime of genocide against Rohingya in Rakhine State.

“The people of Rakhine State deserve protection and justice,” said Matthew Smith. “The army should work with local communities to instill calm.”

For more information, please contact:

Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Fortify Rights, +66 (0) 85.0280044, matthew.smith@fortifyrights.org; Twitter: @matthewfsmith, @fortifyrights

Amy Smith, Executive Director, Fortify Rights, +66 (0) 87.795.5454, amy.smith@fortifyrights.org; Twitter: @AmyAlexSmith, @fortifyrights

RB News 

October 11, 2016 

Sittwe, Arakan – Five Rohingyas who were taking care of their farms in the late evening were tortured by Myanmar military, according to local reports. 

On Monday, October 10th, 2016 at 9:45pm five Rohingyas from Say Tha Ma Gyi village who were staying in tents were taking care of their farms. The military saw them while patrolling near the farms. The men were said to have been called over by military men and they were inhumanely beaten without any reason. The military asked them to come to Pan Lin Pyin military outpost on next day, which is today at the time of this writing. 

The five military officers who reportedly beat the innocents were said to be from Battalion 263 led by Lt. Col. Hlaing Min Htet. 

The name of victims are: 

(1) Dowllah (18-year-old) son of Abukar Siddik 

(2) Hamind (35-year-old) son of Basamiah 

(3) Hanfuru (25-year-old) son of Nur Ahmed 

(4) Salim (25-year-old) son of Mamad Huson 

(5) Habiullah (45-year-old) son of Abulusson

Photos of the victims:

Members of Myanmar's Muslim minority carry rations of meat across a muddy canal during a religious sacrifice of animals in observance of Eid al-Adha, on September 13, 2016 ©Romeo Gacad (AFP)

By AFP

October 10, 2016

Three Muslim men went on trial in Myanmar Monday for illegally importing over 90 cows, in a case Islamic leaders say targets their religion.

The cows, which have spent the last month under police protection, were intended to be ritually slaughtered for the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha last month. The festival has become a flashpoint for Myanmar's Buddhist nationalists.

Hardline monks, including firebrand Wirathu from the Ma Ba Tha movement, have railed against the practice and pressured local authorities to ban it.

Police took posession of 92 cattle last month when a local monk, Pa Mouk Kha, complained they had been brought into the country illegally.

They have been keeping the animals in a football ground north of Yangon for just under a month at a cost of some $300 a day -- spending more than $8,000 so far. Two cows have since died.

The monks have drawn derision from social media users, who have called the case a waste of public resources in a country where one in four lives below the poverty line.

On Monday, the three defendants appeared before the court, charged with illegal trading for allegedly importing the cows without the proper paperwork.

One of them, Myo Myint, in his 60s, has heart disease and had to be supported by police as he approached the courtroom.

His son, Ye Zarni Tun We, said he was "sure" the animals were bought in Myanmar, adding: "We have documents for purchasing the cows."

The men were remanded in custody until their next hearing, while police are still looking for more than 30 other people linked to the case. The cows will soon be auctioned off.

Kyaw Nyein, leader of local Muslim group Ulama Islam, said the case amounted to religious persecution.

"They did not act illegally," he told AFP. "I am not sure whether they technically broke the rules or not, but I think this case is concerned with religious affairs."

Islamophobic sentiment has grown in Myanmar, especially since deadly communal violence erupted between Buddhists and stateless Rohingya Muslims in western Rakhine state in 2012.

Tensions flared on Sunday when nine police officers were killed in a series of attacks on three border posts, which local officials said were carried out by Rohingya.

Burmese Muslims also complain of being treated as second-class citizens in their own country, told they are foreigners and legally restricted from marrying Buddhist women.

While Ma Ba Tha has lost prominence since Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically elected party took power in March, it remains a powerful political force among Myanmar's devout Buddhists.

Myanmar's Muslims complain of being treated as second-class citizens in their own country ©Romeo Gacad (AFP)

Rohingya men walk along the fence separating Myanmar and Bangladesh in Maungdaw town in northern Rakhine State November 11, 2014. REUTERS/Minzayar

By Reuters

October 10, 2016

Myanmar has stepped up security in a Muslim-majority region near its border with Bangladesh, officials said on Monday, as authorities hunt for attackers who killed at least nine police officers.

Officials believe that members of the Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority launched three separate attacks in the early hours of Sunday, in which dozens of weapons and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition were seized from border police. 

Nine policemen were killed, one was missing and five were wounded. Eight attackers were killed and two captured, police said.

The Rohingya, who are mostly stateless and are subject to severe restrictions on their movements, make up the majority of the population in the northern part of Rakhine State.

Authorities in the township of Maungdaw on Sunday announced the extension of an existing order banning gatherings of five or more people and imposing a 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

State media said the military - known as the Tatmadaw - had moved troops into the area by helicopter. Photographs on social media showed trucks full of infantry purportedly being deployed in the area.

No detailed information has been released about the operation in the area near a border guard office at Kyiganbyin village, where as many as 90 assailants seized weapons and fled into the hills.

"The Tatmadaw, the police force and the Ministry of Border Affairs are working together to ensure security and restore law and order,” said Min Aung, a minister in the Rakhine State government, who declined to disclose the size of the force sent to the area.

Human rights advocates raised concerns that civilians may be caught up in the sweep. Unverified reports posted online by advocates for the Rohingya suggested that a violent crackdown may be underway.

Ye Htut, administrator for Maungdaw, said he was not aware of the situation around Kyiganbyin village, which is under the control of security forces. 

Muslim residents of Maungdaw town closed their shops amid the heightened security presence, he said.

“All of the security forces are deployed in Maungdaw, so we are not worried about security. Everything is fine,” Ye Htut said.

BANGLADESH DEPLOYS BORDER GUARDS

Matthew Smith, founder of campaign group Fortify Rights, said restrictions on the Muslim population already in place made northern Rakhine State "a police state, an apartheid state".

"Human rights violations in the context of counterinsurgency in northern Rakhine State are not new," Smith said. 

"The authorities routinely accuse average Rohingya of involvement with armed extremists."

Authorities routinely dismiss accusations of rights abuses.

Sunday was the bloodiest day in the state since 2012, when more than 100 people were killed in clashes between Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. Some 125,000 people, the majority Rohingya, remain displaced.

Myanmar's state counselor and foreign minister Aung San Suu Kyi - who in August appointed former U.N. chief Kofi Annan to head an advisory commission into the situation in Rakhine State - discussed the attacks with security officials in an emergency meeting on Sunday, said foreign ministry official Kyaw Tin.

"The state counselor instructed us to handle this issue cautiously in accordance with the law," Kyaw Tin told reporters.

Officials in Bangladesh said Myanmar had closed the border after the attacks.

Bangladesh deployed additional border guards, said Mohammad Tanvir Alam Khan, a Border Guard Bangladesh commander.

Myanmar police chief Zaw Win has said his force was investigating possible links between the attackers and rebel groups.

Zaw Win also mentioned big drugs busts by police in the area - some 6 million methamphetamine pills were seized in September - as a possible trigger for the attacks.

(Reporting by Aung Hla Tun, Wa Lone and Simon Lewis in Yangon, and by Mohammad Nurul Islam in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh; Editing by Robert Birsel)

RB News

Date: 10th October 2016

By AFP

October 9, 2016

At least two policemen were killed in coordinated attacks by an unknown group on posts along Myanmar's border with Bangladesh early Sunday morning, an official and police said.

The assaults hit three border posts around 1:30 am (1800 GMT Saturday) near Maungdaw in Rakhine, an impoverished state on Myanmar's western flank simmering with sectarian tensions between Buddhists and Muslims.

"According to initial information, two police officers were killed, two others were injured and six police are missing," Tin Maung Swe, a senior official within Rakhine's state government told AFP.

A police official in the capital Naypyidaw confirmed three places were attacked but declined to give further details.

A second police source also confirmed the attacks, adding as many as eight policemen might have been killed, as well as some of the attackers.

A number of weapons were also seized by the assailants from the border posts, that officer added.

Rakhine has been effectively split on religious grounds since bouts of communal violence tore through the state in 2012, killing scores and forcing tens of thousands to flee.

The Muslim Rohingya are largely confined to camps and slapped with restrictions that rights groups have likened to apartheid.

Several complex ethnic conflicts are rumbling across Myanmar's borderlands, hampering efforts to build the country's economy after the end of junta rule.

But compared to the country's civil war-ravaged eastern and northern border states, Rakhine does not boast a significant rebel military presence.

In the last few years the Arakan Army, a small Buddhist militia which wants an independent homeland in the state, have fought sporadic battles with the military.

Despite their plight the Rohingya do not have a known militant faction fighting for them.

However many fear their continued plight could drive them to adopt more violent solutions.

In May armed attackers stormed a security post at a camp for Rohingya refugees in southern Bangladesh just across the border from Maungdaw.

In that attack a Bangladeshi camp commander was shot dead and the assailants made off with weapons.

Police at the time said the Rohingya themselves could be suspects.

In recent years Bangladeshi police have also alleged that Rohingya refugees are involved in criminal activities including human trafficking.

Any uptick in violence in Rakhine will be a major concern for the new civilian-led government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

She has asked former UN chief Kofi Annan to head a commission tasked with trying to heal sectarian divisions in the state.

The move was largely welcomed by Rohingya community leaders but drew ire from Buddhist nationalists.

Anti-Muslim sentiment still runs high in the impoverished region, fanned by hardline Buddhist nationalists who revile the Rohingya and are viscerally opposed to any move to grant them citizenship.

They insist the roughly one-million strong group are intruders from neighbouring Bangladesh, even though many can trace their ancestry in Myanmar back generations.