Myanmar deaths exceed 100

Advocates for Myanmar’s Muslim ethnic Rohingya community say more than 100 members of the minority group have been killed in government counterinsurgency sweeps in the western state of Rakhine, report agencies.
Ko Ko Linn of the Arakan Rohingya National Organization said by phone Wednesday that according to villagers, at least 150 people had been killed by security forces since Saturday. He alleged that the government sought to cover up the killings by barring the media and aid groups from the area.
The government has acknowledged the deaths of 69 “violent attackers” and 17 members of the security forces. The attackers weren’t identified, but the army has aligned with Rakhine Buddhists against the Rohingya.
The government says the attackers burned down hundreds of homes, but rights groups blame the army for such actions. Meanwhile, former UN chief Kofi Annan has expressed “deep concern” over violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state where the military killed dozens of people over the weekend, sending hundreds of Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh, reports AFP from Yangon.
The military has locked down a strip of land along the border, an area largely home to the oppressed Muslim minority, since deadly raids on police posts last month.
The army says troops have killed nearly 70 people as they hunt the attackers, who they say are radicalised Rohingya militants with links to overseas Islamists.
Activists say the toll could be much higher, accusing troops of shooting unarmed civilians, raping women and torching homes, but the army has stopped independent observers from investigating the claims.
Annan called for an end to the bloodshed in a statement released as seven members of a commission he heads on Rakhine held talks with local officials in state capital Sittwe.
“I wish to express my deep concern over the recent violence in northern Rakhine State, which is plunging the state into renewed instability and creating new displacement,” he said in a statement late Tuesday.
“All communities must renounce violence and I urge the security services to act in full compliance with the rule of law.”
On Wednesday the commission members will head to villages hit by the unrest.
The US is also “concerned by reports of a spike in violence” in Rakhine, US State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said in Washington, urging the government to allow a “credible and independent investigation”.

Myanmar deaths exceed 100

Advocates for Myanmars Muslim ethnic Rohingya community say more than 100 members of the minority group have been killed in government counterinsurgency sweeps in the western state of Rakhine, report agencies. Ko Ko Linn of the Arakan Rohingya National Organization said by phone Wednesday that according to villagers, at least 150 people had been killed by security forces since Saturday. He alleged that the government sought to cover up the killings by barring the media and aid groups from the area. The government has acknowledged the deaths of 69 violent attackers and 17 members of the security forces. The attackers werent identified, but the army has aligned with Rakhine Buddhists against the Rohingya. The government says the attackers burned down hundreds of homes, but rights groups blame the army for such actions. Meanwhile, former UN chief Kofi Annan has expressed deep concern over violence in Myanmars Rakhine state where the military killed dozens of people over the weekend, sending hundreds of Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh, reports AFP from Yangon. The military has locked down a strip of land along the border, an area largely home to the oppressed Muslim minority, since deadly raids on police posts last month. The army says troops have killed nearly 70 people as they hunt the attackers, who they say are radicalised Rohingya militants with links to overseas Islamists. Activists say the toll could be much higher, accusing troops of shooting unarmed civilians, raping women and torching homes, but the army has stopped independent observers from investigating the claims. Annan called for an end to the bloodshed in a statement released as seven members of a commission he heads on Rakhine held talks with local officials in state capital Sittwe. I wish to express my deep concern over the recent violence in northern Rakhine State, which is plunging the state into renewed instability and creating new displacement, he said in a statement late Tuesday. All communities must renounce violence and I urge the security services to act in full compliance with the rule of law. On Wednesday the commission members will head to villages hit by the unrest. The US is also concerned by reports of a spike in violence in Rakhine, US State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said in Washington, urging the government to allow a credible and independent investigation.