Rakhine is where the brutal persecution of the Rohingya people took place by the military in 2017, resulting in the killing of approximately 10,000 men, women and infants and the displacement of nearly 750,000 community members, many of them continue to languish in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh.
“Rakhine State has once again become a battlefield with the participation of many parties, and Civilians are paying a heavy price, especially the Rohingya,” Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights speak.
“What is particularly worrying is that in 2017, Rohingya people were targeted by a group, now they are trapped between two armed factions someone with a track record of killing them. We must not allow the Rohingya to be targeted again.”
Wide area fighting
The breakdown of a year-long unofficial ceasefire between the military and the Arakan Army (AA) last November plunged 15 of Rakhine’s 17 townships into conflict.
The army’s loss of territory to the AA in the northern and central areas of the province has led to intense fighting in the towns of Buthidaung and Maungdaw, setting the stage for a potential battle for the state capital Sittwe.
The presence of large Rohingya populations in these areas further exacerbates the risks faced by civilians.
Forced into military service
“Faced with defeat, the army began blatantly coercing, bribing and coercing the Rohingya to join their ranks.”, Mr. Türk said.
“It is unconscionable that they should be targeted in this way, given the horrific events six years ago and the ongoing extreme discrimination against the Rohingya, including the denial of citizenship rights ”.
Reports also show that both Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine villagers were forced to burn each other’s homes and villages, escalating tensions and violence.
OHCHR is trying to verify the reports, a task complicated by statewide communications outages.
Alarm bells rang
The High Commissioner also cited widespread misinformation and propaganda, pointing to claims that so-called “Islamic terrorists” had taken Hindus and Buddhists hostage.
“This is the kind of hateful narrative that fuels communal violence in 2012 and the horrific attacks against the Rohingya in 2017,” he said.
“Countries with influence over the Myanmar military and related armed groups must act now to protect all civilians in Rakhine state and prevent another round of horrific repression,” he urged. against the Rohingya people”.
