Amnesty International Report Says Myanmar Military Is Committing War Crimes Again

Photo: Satellite images show buildings and historical sites have been damaged in Rakhine State. (Supplied: Amnesty International)

BBC: Myanmar military accused of fresh war crimes in Rakhine

Myanmar's army is committing fresh war crimes against ethnic groups in Rakhine state, according to human rights group Amnesty International.

In a new report, Amnesty accuses the army of carrying out extrajudicial killings, torture and arbitrary arrests amid an operation against an ethnic Buddhist guerrilla force.

The army has denied the allegations.

Soldiers were previously accused of mass human rights violations against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine in 2017.

More than 70,000 people fled the country as a result of the crackdown on the ethnic minority group.

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WNU Editor: The amnesty International report is here .... Myanmar: Military commits war crimes in latest operation in Rakhine State (Amnesty International).

More News On Amnesty International claims That The Myanmar Military Is Committing War Crimes Again

Myanmar's military 'unleashes campaign of violence' in Rakhine State, Amnesty International warns -- ABC News Online
Amnesty accuses Myanmar military of new abuses in Rakhine -- France 24
Amnesty International Report Says Myanmar Military Is Again Committing War Crimes -- NPR
Myanmar military committing war crimes in Rakhine: Amnesty -- Al Jazeera
Myanmar’s Military Is Still Committing War Crimes Against the Rohingya -- VICE News

UN Publishes Report On Atrocities Committed By The Myanmar Army On The Rohingyas

The Guardian: ‘Tied to trees and raped’: UN report details Rohingya horrors

UN investigators publish report detailing evidence for accusation of genocide against Burmese military

Horrific accounts of murders, rapes, torture and indiscriminate shelling allegedly committed by the Burmese army against the Rohingya people and other minority groups have been laid out by UN investigators in an extensive new report detailing evidence for their accusation of genocide.

The report from the fact-finding mission, presented to the UN human rights council (UNHRC) on Tuesday, said Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, had committed “the gravest crimes under international law”.

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More News On The UN Publishing A Report On Atrocities Committed By The Myanmar Army On The Rohingyas

ICC opens Myanmar Rohingya crimes probe -- BBC
Myanmar Rohingya crisis: ICC begins inquiry into atrocities -- The Guardian
The ICC Has Launched a Preliminary Examination Into Myanmar's Expulsion of Rohingya Muslims -- Time
International Criminal Court to investigate Myanmar’s Rohingya deportations -- The Independent
UN Report Calls for Genocide Charges Against Myanmar’s Military Leaders -- Sputnik
War crimes prosecutor begins examining alleged Rohingya deportations -- Reuters
UN wants these 6 Myanmar generals to be investigated for 'genocide' -- The Independent
Imprisonment, torture and rape: Why Myanmar must be referred to the ICC -- Shirin Ebadi and Tawakkol Karman, CNN

U.N. Report: Myanmar’s Military Committed Genocide Against The Rohingyas In Rakhine State

The Guardian: Myanmar's military accused of genocide in damning UN report

Mission concludes army has carried out ‘gravest crimes’ against Rohingya in Rakhine and minorities elsewhere.

Myanmar’s military has been accused of genocide against the Rohingya in Rakhine state in a damning UN report that alleged the army was responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity against minorities across the country.

The UN report said it found conclusive evidence that the actions of the country’s armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, “undoubtedly amounted to the gravest crimes under international law” in Rakhine as well as in Kachin and Shan, states also riven by internal conflicts.

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WNU Editor: The UN report is here .... Myanmar: Tatmadaw leaders must be investigated for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes – UN report (United Nations Human Rights).

More News On The UN Accusing Myanmar’s Military Of Committing Genocide Against The Rohingyas In Rakhine State

Myanmar Generals Must Be Prosecuted for Genocide, UN Says -- Bloomberg
Rohingya demand justice after UN probe calls for genocide prosecution -- AFP
UN tells of Myanmar genocide but are world powers listening? -- Simon Tisdall, The Guardian
The World Isn’t Prepared to Deal With Possible Genocide In Myanmar -- Krishnadev Calamur, The Atlantic
Will Myanmar's genocide generals ever face justice? -- Jamie Tarabay, CNN

Reuters Exposes The Shock Troops Who Expelled The Rohingya From Myanmar

Myanmar is accused of waging a crackdown in Rakhine state that forced 700,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh [Reuters]

Reuters: Tip of the Spear: The shock troops who expelled the Rohingya from Myanmar

Two elite divisions led a crackdown that forced 700,000 Muslims to flee Myanmar. Here's how they did it.

A Reuters investigation provides the first comprehensive account of the precise role played by Myanmar’s 33rd and 99th light infantry divisions in the savage offensive, and the close ties between the army's commander in chief and its elite troops.

YANGON, Myanmar/COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh – In early August last year, a young lieutenant named Kyi Nyan Lynn flew to Rakhine State, with hundreds of other Myanmar soldiers. They were about to launch a campaign that would drive hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from their homes and leave the region in flames.

First, however, Lieutenant Kyi Nyan Lynn of the 33rd Light Infantry Division did what any young man might do: He wrote a Facebook post.

“In our plane, we got to eat cake,” read the Aug. 10 post.

“Are you going to eat Bengali meat?” commented a friend. Many Burmese refer to Rohingya as “Bengali” or use the pejorative term “kalar.”

“Whatever, man,” replied the lieutenant.

“Crush the kalar, buddy,” urged another friend.

“Will do,” he replied.

Kyi Nyan Lynn was part of what some Western military analysts refer to as Myanmar’s “tip of the spear:” hundreds of battle-hardened soldiers from two light infantry divisions – the 33rd and 99th – famed for their brutal counter-insurgency campaigns against this nation’s many ethnic minorities.

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WNU Editor: This is how ethnic cleansing is done. In the meantime the military in Myanmar is trying to clean-up its image .... General involved in Rohingya crackdown fired after EU sanctions (Al Jazeera). And where is Aung San Suu Kyi?

Amnesty International: Rohingya Militants Massacred Hindus In Myanmar

A Myanmar army helicopter is seen in September 2017 after transporting journalists to an area where the bodies of Hindu villagers were found near Maungdaw in the north of Myanmar’s Rakhine state, September 27, 2017. Photograph: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters

The Guardian: Rohingya militants massacred Hindus in Myanmar, says Amnesty

Human rights group says accountability for atrocities is just as crucial as for security forces’ crimes.

The Rohingya military group Arsa carried out deadly massacres and abductions of the Hindu community in Myanmar’s Rakhine state last year, a new report by Amnesty International has revealed.

Testimony collected by Amnesty from dozens of witnesses and survivors of the attacks in Rakhine in August have detailed how up to 99 Hindu men, women and children were killed by Arsa militants armed with knives, swords and sticks. Only those who agreed to convert to Islam were spared.

According to the report, on 25 August last year, Arsa militants, aided by some local Rohingya, descended on the village of Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik, in the northern Maungdaw township in Rakhine.

They rounded up all 69 Hindu men, women, and children, before executing 53 of them. Some who agreed to convert from Hinduism to Islam were freed.

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More News On The Amnesty International Report That Rohingya Militants Massacred Hindus In Myanmar

Rohingya insurgents killed Hindu villagers in Myanmar violence: Amnesty -- Reuters
Myanmar Rohingya militants massacred Hindus, says Amnesty -- BBC
Rights group: Rohingya insurgents massacred Myanmar Hindus -- AP
Report claims Rohingya militant group massacred nearly 100 Hindus -- CNN
Report Alleges Massacres Committed by Rohingya Militants Against Civilians -- The Wall Street Journal

Report: Facebook Hate Speech Exploded In Myanmar At The Start Of The Rohingya Crisis

The Guardian: Revealed: Facebook hate speech exploded in Myanmar during Rohingya crisis

Analyst says: ‘I really don’t know how Zuckerberg and co sleep at night’ after evidence emerges of a spike in posts inciting violence.

Hate speech exploded on Facebook at the start of the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar last year, analysis has revealed, with experts blaming the social network for creating “chaos” in the country.

Evidence of the spike emerged after the platform was accused of playing a key role in the spread of hate speech in Myanmar at a time when 650,000 Rohingya refugees were forced to flee to Bangladesh following persecution.

Digital researcher and analyst Raymond Serrato examined about 15,000 Facebook posts from supporters of the hardline nationalist Ma Ba Tha group. The earliest posts dated from June 2016 and spiked on 24 and 25 August 2017, when ARSA Rohingya militants attacked government forces, prompting the security forces to launch the “clearance operation” that sent hundreds of thousands of Rohingya pouring over the border.

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WNU editor: I mentioned this before .... but what helped spread the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi minority in 1994 were the radio stations. Today .... at least in the case of the Rohingyas .... social media is the preferred medium of communication. The above report posted by the Guardian is incredibly damning of Facebook .... and it is helping change my mind that social media needs regulation and supervision. I know that Facebook is facing a crisis over how they use their access to our personal information to boost their business model. But this is an issue that Facebook founder Zuckerberg and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg must confront head-on .... they just cannot give an interview here or there and hope that it will blow away .... Facebook Data Scandal Has Left Zuckerberg Isolated in Tech (Bloomberg) .... The infuriating invisibility of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg (The Hill).

U.N. Report: Violence And Torture Continues On Rohingya

Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee addresses a news conference after her report to the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 13, 2017. Reuters

Reuters: U.N. official says violence and torture continues on Rohingya

Crimes verging on genocide were being committed against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, and those crimes bore “the fingerprints of the Myanmar government and of the international community”, the United Nations special adviser on the prevention of genocide said on Tuesday.

Adama Dieng spent a week in Bangladesh to assess the condition of the almost 700,000 Rohingyas who had fled across the border from Myanmar, and he said during his trip he heard “terrifying stories.”

“Rohingya Muslims have been killed, tortured, raped, burnt alive and humiliated, solely because of who they are,” Dieng said in a prepared statement.

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Update: UN officials point finger at Myanmar for 'crimes under international law' (The Guardian)

WNU Editor: The Myanmar government is not impressed .... Myanmar Says UN Findings on Human Rights Lack Credibility (VOA).

UN Investigators Accuse Facebook Of Accelerating The Ethnic Violence In Myanmar

Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee (R) gives her report next to the Chairperson of the Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar Marzuki Darusman, during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 12, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

Reuters: U.N. investigators cite Facebook role in Myanmar crisis

GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. human rights experts investigating a possible genocide in Myanmar said on Monday that Facebook had played a role in spreading hate speech there.

Facebook had no immediate comment on the criticism on Monday, although in the past the company has said that it was working to remove hate speech in Myanmar and kick off people who shared such content consistently.

More than 650,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state into Bangladesh since insurgent attacks sparked a security crackdown last August. Many have provided harrowing testimonies of executions and rapes by Myanmar security forces.

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WNU Editor: This is the ugly side of social media, and an excellent example of Facebook failing to monitor its own platform.

More News On UN Investigators Accusing Facebook Of Accelerating The Ethnic Violence In Myanmar

U.N. Fact Finders Say Facebook Played a 'Determining' Role in Violence Against the Rohingya -- Time
Myanmar: UN blames Facebook for spreading hatred of Rohingya -- The Guardian
UN: Facebook has turned into a beast in Myanmar -- BBC
UN ties Facebook to spreading hate in Myanmar crisis -- CNET
Facebook under fire from UN investigators over role in Rohingya crisis -- Mashable
UN says Facebook is accelerating ethnic violence in Myanmar (Tech Dirt)

Reuters Uncovers Evidence That The Myanmar Military Committed Massacres Against The Rohingya

Reuters: Special Report - How Myanmar forces burned, looted and killed in a remote village

INN DIN, Myanmar (Reuters) - Bound together, the 10 Rohingya Muslim captives watched their Buddhist neighbours dig a shallow grave. Soon afterwards, on the morning of Sept. 2, all 10 lay dead. At least two were hacked to death by Buddhist villagers. The rest were shot by Myanmar troops, two of the gravediggers said.

“One grave for 10 people,” said Soe Chay, 55, a retired soldier from Inn Din’s Rakhine Buddhist community who said he helped dig the pit and saw the killings. The soldiers shot each man two or three times, he said. “When they were being buried, some were still making noises. Others were already dead.”

The killings in the coastal village of Inn Din marked another bloody episode in the ethnic violence sweeping northern Rakhine state, on Myanmar’s western fringe. Nearly 690,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled their villages and crossed the border into Bangladesh since August. None of Inn Din’s 6,000 Rohingya remained in the village as of October.

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More News On Reports That The Myanmar Military Committed Massacres Against The Rohingya In Rakhine Province

Cardinal: Rohingya Faced 'Elements of Ethnic Cleansing' -- US News and World Report/AP
Reuters report alleges murder, arson by Myanmar's military -- CNN
Reuters Report Details Work of Journalists Detained in Myanmar -- VOA
Reuters Publishes Story Of Myanmar Massacre After 2 Journalists Arrested -- NPR
Bound together, shot to death: Myanmar massacre report prompts calls for independent probe -- CBC/Reuters
Reuters says Myanmar detained its journalists over Rohingya massacre probe -- DW
Reuters says journalists arrested for probing Rohingya massacre -- AFP
U.N. says Reuters report on Myanmar massacre 'alarming,' need for investigation -- Business Insider/Reuters

Mass Graves Discovered In Myanmar. U.N. Says Evidence Of Genocide

Business Insider/AP: UN says Myanmar's treatment of Rohingya Muslims has the 'hallmarks of genocide'

* The U.N. special envoy on human rights in Myanmar said Thursday that the Myanmar military's violent operations against Rohingya Muslims bear "the hallmarks of a genocide."
* Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled their villages into Bangladesh since the Myanmar military's crackdown following Aug. 25 attacks by Rohingya insurgents.
* An Associated Press report Thursday detailed a massacre and at least five mass graves in the Myanmar village.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.N. special envoy on human rights in Myanmar said Thursday that the Myanmar military's violent operations against Rohingya Muslims bear "the hallmarks of a genocide."

Yanghee Lee told reporters in Seoul, where she is based, that she couldn't make a definitive declaration about genocide until a credible international tribunal or court had weighed the evidence, but "we are seeing signs and it is building up to that."

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WNU Editor: My gut is telling me that this is probably just the "tip of the iceberg".

More News On Reports That Mass Graves Have Been Discovered In Myanmar

AP Exclusive: AP confirms Myanmar massacre and 5 mass graves -- AP
Evidence of Rohingya mass graves uncovered in Myanmar -- Aljazeera
Myanmar: evidence of Rohingya mass graves uncovered -- Euronews
Mass Graves Discovered In Myanmar Evidence Of Rohingya Persecution, Report Finds -- International Business Times

354 Rohingya Villages Have Been Destroyed in Myanmar By The Military In The Past 4 Months

A Rohingya refugee family eats as they sit inside their semi constructed shelter at Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Reuters: A visual that shows just how many Rohingya villages have been burned

(Reuters) - In the four months since the Myanmar military began a crackdown after Rohingya militants attacked an army base and police posts on Aug. 25, around 655,000 members of the stateless Muslim minority have fled the western state of Rakhine and crossed into neighboring Bangladesh.

A Reuters graphic makes use of data from the U.N. Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT) to show hundreds of villages in Rakhine state that were once inhabited by the Rohingya, but have now been burned down.

A total of 354 villages have either been completely or partially destroyed, Human Rights Watch said on Dec. 18.

The data, which was gathered from Aug. 25, the day of the Rohingya militant attack, to Nov. 25, shows burned settlements in an area stretching 110 km (68 miles) from the green hills of Rakhine’s northern tip to beaches near the state’s capital Sittwe in the south.

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WNU Editor: Reuter's interactive graphic on the destruction of the Rohingya people in Myanmar can be seen here. This is a text-book example on what ethnic cleansing looks like.

Doctors Without Borders: 6700 Rohingya Killed In First Month Of Myanmar Army Crackdown

VOA: Report: Nearly 7,000 Rohingya Muslims Killed in First Month of Army Crackdown

Doctors Without Borders says at least 6,700 Rohingya Muslims were killed in the first month of a brutal army crackdown on Rohingya rebels.

The Geneva-based international aid group, commonly known by its French acronym MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières), says Thursday it came up with its estimate after conducting a survey of several Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. The group says its estimated death toll includes at least 730 children younger than 5.

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WNU Editor: There are some who believe the death toll is much higher .... The Actual Rohingya Death Toll Is 22 Times Higher Than Official Estimate, Survey Shows (HuffPost).

More News On The Report From Doctors Without Borders That6700 Rohingya Were Killed In The First Month Of The Myanmar Army Crackdown

Aid group: At least 6,700 Rohingya killed in Myanmar -- AP
6,700 Rohingya killed in first month of Myanmar violence: MSF -- AFP
Aid group says shocking number of Rohingyas killed in 2 months -- CBS News
Rohingya death toll likely above 10,000, MSF says amid exodus -- ABC News Online
6,700 Rohingya Muslims killed in one month in Myanmar, MSF says -- The Guardian
6700 Rohingya killed in first month of Myanmar crackdown, MSF reports -- CNN
MSF: More than 6,700 Rohingya killed in Myanmar -- Al Jazeera

United Nations: Myanmar Forces May Be Guilty Of Genocide Against The Rohingya

BBC: Rohingya crisis: UN rights chief 'cannot rule out genocide'

The United Nations human rights chief has said an act of genocide against Rohingya Muslims by state forces in Myanmar cannot be ruled out.

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein was addressing a Human Rights Council session in Geneva.

More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh to escape violence since August. Myanmar's army says it has been targeting Rohingya militants.

Mr Zeid said no Rohingya should be sent back unless there was sustained human rights monitoring on the ground.

He listed alleged abuses against the Rohingya, including "killing by random firing of bullets, use of grenades, shooting at close range, stabbings, beatings to death and the burning of houses with families inside".

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More News On The United Nations Alleging That Myanmar Forces May Be Guilty Of Genocide Against The Rohingya

Myanmar forces may be guilty of genocide against Rohingya, U.N. says -- Reuters
Possible 'elements of genocide' in Myanmar: UN rights chief -- Channel New Asia/AFP
Cannot rule out crime of genocide against Rohingya, says UN Human Rights High Commissioner -- India Today
'Elements of Genocide' Cannot Be Ruled Out in Myanmar - UN Human Rights Chief -- Sputnik
Satellite images show how large the Rohingya refugee camps have grown as people flee Myanmar -- Business Insider

U.S. Declares ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ Against The Rohingya Is Occurring In Myanmar

BBC: Rohingya crisis: US calls Myanmar action 'ethnic cleansing'

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says Myanmar's military action against the minority Muslim Rohingya population constitutes ethnic cleansing.

He said the Rohingya had suffered "horrendous atrocities" and as a result the US was considering targeted sanctions against those responsible.

In September, UN human rights chief Zeid Raad Al Hussein also accused Myanmar of ethnic cleansing.

Mr Tillerson's comments come days before a visit to Myanmar by the Pope.

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More News On The U.S. Declaring ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ Against The Rohingya In Myanmar

US declares ‘ethnic cleansing’ against Rohingya in Myanmar -- AP
US condemns 'ethnic cleansing' of Myanmar's Rohingya -- AFP
US condemns 'ethnic cleansing' of Rohingya in Myanmar -- DW
Tillerson declares violence in Myanmar is ethnic cleansing -- ABC News
Tillerson: Myanmar clearly 'ethnic cleansing' the Rohingya -- CNN
Violence against Rohingya Muslims in Burma is 'ethnic cleansing,' US declares -- Fox News
U.S. Condemns Myanmar's Rohingya Crisis as Ethnic Cleansing -- Bloomberg
US: Myanmar attacks on Rohingya 'ethnic cleansing' -- Al Jazeera
U.S. hopes to pressure Myanmar to permit Rohingya repatriation -- Reuters

Special Report: The Rohingya Refugee Crisis (Video)

SKY News: Rohingya babies dumped and left to die in Myanmar crisis

Sky's Alex Crawford travels to Myanmar's Rakhine State, witnessing first-hand the military's brutal crackdown on Rohingya Muslims.

We have witnessed scenes of shocking deprivation and desperation among thousands of stranded Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, including emaciated women and newborn babies who have been dumped on beaches and left to die.

Sky News has managed to film the first independent evidence from Rakhine State - the centre of Myanmar's brutal crackdown against the Rohingya.

It shows a truly alarming humanitarian crisis of huge proportions is taking place right here, right now, as you are reading this.

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Update #1: Disturbing scenes from shores of Myanmar as Rohingya struggle to escape -- CTV News
Update #2: Burma: Army Report Whitewashes Ethnic Cleansing -- Human Rights Watch

WNU Editor: This is as bad as it can get.

The Rohingya Crisis -- October 12, 2017

DW: Myanmar army chief says Rohingya crisis is exaggerated

Myanmar's army chief has refuted the scale of the Rohingya refugee crisis. Around half of the Rohingya population has been forced into Bangladesh.

Myanmar's powerful army chief said Thursday the media has "exaggerated" the number of Rohingya fleeing a crackdown, a day after the UN accused security forces of a "systematic" attacks aimed at expelling the Muslim minority group.

More than 500,000 Rohingya have fled from Rakhine state to Bangladesh since August 25, when the army started military operations following militant attacks on security posts.

The UN Human Rights Office said Wednesday security forces in the majority Buddhist nation had murdered, raped, tortured, pillaged and burned down Rohingya villages and crops "not only to drive the population out in droves but also to prevent the fleeing Rohingya victims from returning to their homes."

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The Rohingya Crisis -- October 12, 2017

Myanmar army chief says Rohingya not native -- Straits Times/AFP
Rohingya not native, Myanmar army chief says -- Al Jazeera
Myanmar Envoy Denies Genocide Against Rohingya Muslims -- VOA
The leader of the Burmese army, accused by the United Nations, contests the extent of the exile of the Rohingya -- Turkey Telegraph
Rohingya flee Myanmar due to hunger after atrocities -- Aljazeera
UN Preparing for Another Surge of Rohingya Refugees into Bangladesh -- Voice of America
Bangladesh to build one of world's largest refugee camps for 800,000 Rohingya -- The Guardian/AFP
Rohingya crisis raises risks of terrorism and social unrest -- Nikkei Asian Review

Rohingya Crisis -- News Updates October 4-5, 2017

ABC News Online: Rohingya Muslims: Refugees with catastrophic injuries 'targeted' by military landmines as they fled

The United Nations says Myanmar's treatment of Rohingya Muslims is ethnic cleansing. Among the most serious allegations is the alleged laying of landmines on refugees' routes to Bangladesh.

While the military denies the charge, in one Bangladesh hospital lie numerous Rohingyas suffering blast injuries and gunshot wounds, which they say were inflicted as they fled.

Rohingya refugee Yousef Nabi is a young man in agony.

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Rohingya Crisis -- News Updates October 4-5, 2017

Myanmar military accused of executing dozens of fleeing Rohingya villagers -- The Guardian
Rohingya fleeing Myanmar say army redoubling push to clear villages -- AFP
Myanmar army denies laying landmines in Rohingyas' path -- ABC News Online
Bangladesh destroys boats ferrying Rohingya from Myanmar -- Reuters
UN: Myanmar violence may be 'crimes against humanity' -- Al Jazeera
Rohingya refugees living in ‘dire’ conditions, senior UN officials warn, appealing for assistance -- UN News Centre
U.N. experts on women and children's rights decry Myanmar atrocities -- Reuters
Aid groups seek $434 million to help up to 1.2 million Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar -- Reuters
Children in Bangladesh's Rohingya Camps Draw Scenes of Horror -- VOA
Rohingya Mobile Reporter Network Crumbles in Myanmar -- VOA
'Long history of Rohingya jihad starts with Partition' -- Daily Mail
The Rohingya Crisis -- Eleanor Albert, Council on Foreign Relations

Half A Million Rohingya Refugees Have Now Fled Myanmar

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Asia Correspondent: Half a million Rohingya refugees have now fled into Bangladesh

MORE THAN half a million Rohingya Muslims have now crossed the border from Rakhine State in Burma (Myanmar) in just over a month, fleeing what rights groups say are crimes against humanity.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) confirmed on Thursday that 501,800 new arrivals have been reported in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh since Aug 25.

Violence has ravaged the Rakhine after the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacked police and military outposts in late August, sparking a crackdown and “clearing operations” by the Tatmadaw army which now stands accused of arson, extrajudicial killings and rape.

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WNU Editor: What took them so long? .... Oxford takes down Aung San Suu Kyi portrait as Rohingya crisis intensifies (DW). And Canada has also been slow .... Strip Aung San Suu Kyi of honorary Canadian citizenship, advocates demand (CTV News).

More News On The Rohingya Crisis

Myanmar refugee exodus tops 500,000 as more Rohingya flee -- Washington Post/AP
‘Humanitarian nightmare’: Over 500k Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar violence -- RT
As new arrivals top half a million in Bangladesh, UNHCR getting ever more refugees into shelter -- UNHCR
Amid ‘Humanitarian and Human Rights Nightmare’ in Myanmar, Secretary-General Urges Full Access for Aid, Safe Return of Displaced Rohingya, End to Military Operations -- Relief Web
Rohingya crisis: UN chief warns of 'humanitarian nightmare' -- BBC
"Bone-chilling" accounts from those fleeing Myanmar, U.N. Secretary General says -- CBS
Time for a Shift in U.S. Policy Toward Burma -- Olivia Enos, Forbes
Half of Myanmar’s Rohingya minority has fled the country -- VOX
How Myanmar expelled the majority of its Rohingya -- Al Jazeera

A Different Viewpoint On The Crisis In Myanmar And The Rohingya

A large plume of smoke is seen on the Myanmar side of the border from Teknaf, Bangladesh, September 15, 2017. Photo: Reuters/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

Bertil Lintner, Asia Times: The truth behind Myanmar’s Rohingya insurgency

While the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army claims to be fighting an ethno-nationalist struggle, its leaders and extremist group links point towards a wider regional agenda.

While Myanmar’s emergent Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) claims it’s like other ethnic armed groups fighting for self-determination across the country and should not be branded as a terrorist organization, the realities on the ground tell a different tale.

ARSA represents an entirely new type of insurgency, one which the Myanmar military has demonstrated it is wholly ill-equipped to combat. Other ethnic resistance armies in Myanmar, such as those from the Kachin, Shan, Karen or Mon, dress in military uniforms with the names of their respective groups prominently displayed and badges showing their ranks.

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WNU Editor: There is some truth to the above Asia Times post. WNU has been covering the ongoing insurgency in Rakhine state for a long time .... Violence Erupts In Myanmar's Region Bordering Bangladesh (October 10, 2016). And before the Rohingya crisis exploded last month, there was an insurgent attack on a number of police posts last month .... Rohingya Muslim Insurgents Have Launched Multiple Attacks Against Myanmar Police Posts (August 25, 2017). Does this justify ethnic cleansing .... of course not. But there is more to this conflict than just the exodus of hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi Addresses The Plight Of The Rohingya

New York Times: Aung San Suu Kyi, a Much-Changed Icon, Evades Rohingya Accusations

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar — Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and de facto leader of Myanmar, stood before a room of government officials and foreign dignitaries on Tuesday to at last, after weeks of international urging, address the plight of the country’s Rohingya ethnic minority.

But those who expected Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi to eloquently acknowledge a people’s oppression were disappointed.

In her speech, delivered in crisp English and often directly inviting foreign listeners to “join us” in addressing Myanmar’s problems, she steadfastly refused to criticize the Myanmar military, which has been accused of a vast campaign of killing, rape and village burning.

“The security forces have been instructed to adhere strictly to the code of conduct in carrying out security operations, to exercise all due restraint and to take full measures to avoid collateral damage and the harming of innocent civilians,” she said.

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WNU Editor: She knows what is happening .... and her refusal to acknowledge the ethnic cleansing that is occurring in her country says volumes on who and what she is. In the meantime .... the Rohingya exodus continues .... UN scaling up assistance as number of Rohingya refugees grows to over 400,000 (United Nations News Center).

On a side note, Aung San Suu Kyi is an honorary citizen of Canada .... time to revoke her honor .... Protesters call for Canada to revoke Aung San Suu Kyi’s honorary citizenship (Globe and Mail).

More News On Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi Addressing The Plight Of The Rohingya

Myanmar's Suu Kyi condemns abuses in Rakhine but silent on army role -- Reuters
Aung San Suu Kyi sidesteps atrocity allegations in first address on Rohingya crisis -- Washington Post
Myanmar’s leader avoids plight of Rohingya in 1st speech since violence -- ABC News
Aung San Suu Kyi breaks silence on Rohingya, sparks storm of criticism -- CNN International
Suu Kyi rejects criticism over Rohingya, UN chief urges army pullback -- Yahoo News
Rohingya Crisis: Myanmar Leader Aung San Suu Kyi Speaks, Defies Calls for Quick Action -- Newsweek
As villages burn and Rohingya flee, Aung San Suu Kyi tells the world “solid evidence” is needed -- Quartz
Reactions to Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi's speech -- Washington Post
Rohingya crisis: Are Suu Kyi's Rohingya claims correct? -- BBC News
The west wanted Aung San Suu Kyi to be a saint. It's no surprise she is not -- The Guardian