The Irrawaddy: Army Admits Security Officials, Villagers Executed 10 ARSA-Linked Rohingya

A Myanmar Army investigation has found a mass grave of 10 Rohingya in Rakhine State, and determined they were killed by villagers and security forces in retaliation for attacks on security outposts. The determination was based on interviews with army witnesses, border police, security officials, villagers and government employees. The 10 Rohingya were arrested and accused of a series of attacks reported to be organized by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. The 10 people should have been handed to police, and a small group of villagers and army personnel carried out the execution. The Rohingya are a small minority group in Myanmar, which is 85 percent Buddhist, and denied citizenship rights. “Since the ARSA attacks in August last year, northern Rakhine State has been ravaged by clearance operations by Myanmar security forces, causing an exodus of more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims to nearby Bangladesh,” reports Irrawaddy. “Some of the refugees have reported witnessing or being subjected to arbitrary killings, rapes and the torching of property by the security forces and local vigilantes.” – YaleGlobal