The US has sanctioned a Myanmar general accused of leading an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya people, says BBC. Maung Maung Soe is among a host of world figures blacklisted by the US over human rights and corruption allegations.

In its statement, the US Treasury said Maung Maung Soe "oversaw the military operation in Burma's Rakhine State responsible for widespread human rights abuse against Rohingya civilians".

Last month he was transferred from his post, but Myanmar's Ministry of Defence gave no reason for the move. Meanwhile, Myanmar’s army has appointed a senior officer to the rank of lieutenant general to investigate whether any members of the security forces were involved in the killing of 10 people whose bodies have been uncovered in a mass grave in Rakhine State, reports press24news.

In a statement posted on the Facebook page of the military’s commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the army said a five-member investigation team had left the capital Naypyitaw on Wednesday.

The team, led by Lieutenant General Aye Win, would “investigate whether the security forces took part or not, in relation to the unidentified dead bodies found in Inn Din village graveyard”.

A violent crackdown by the security forces in response to attacks by militants in the western state has caused around 650,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh in recent months.

The discover of the grave, at the village of Inn Din, about 50 km (30 miles) north of the state capital Sittwe, was announced by the military two days ago.

It gave no further details and military officials were not immediately available for comment.

General Aye Win is the same officer who led a wider probe into the conduct of troops in a conflict that began in late August, which concluded in a report last month that no atrocities took place.

Myanmar’s armed forces launched what they termed clearance operations in northern Rakhine, where many of the stateless Muslim minority lived, after Rohingya militants attacked 30 police posts and an army base on Aug. 25.

Rights monitors have accused troops of abuses, including killings, mass rape and arson during those operations.