Aung San Suu Kyi is pressed to rein in military amid emergence of armed Rohingya resistance
TEKNAF, Bangladesh—Thousands of refugees are pouring from Myanmar into Bangladesh with stories of atrocities, fleeing what is emerging as the world’s newest guerrilla war.
Myanmar soldiers in uniform are killing, raping and torturing members of the Rohingya Muslim minority, according to rights groups and families arriving at camps near this border town across a river from Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
The army crackdown followed attacks on border posts in October claimed by the first Rohingya militant resistance group to emerge in decades. Nine policemen were killed by the group, Harakah al-Yaqin, or Faith Movement, whose arrival marked a significant escalation of a long-simmering conflict.
United Nations officials have condemned what they say is a disproportionate response by Myanmar authorities. Satellite images released by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch show what the groups say is the systematic torching of villages to punish the Rohingya.
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi ’s government has denied allegations of atrocities committed by the army. A spokesman for President Htin Kyaw said the army was carrying out “clearance operations according to the law.” The spokesman said Rohingyas were setting fire to their own houses to get international attention.
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