Myanmar military accused of fresh war crimes in Rakhine

Source: BBC

Myanmar’s army is committing fresh war crimes against ethnic groups in Rakhine state, according to human rights group Amnesty International.

In a new report, Amnesty accuses the army of carrying out extrajudicial killings, torture and arbitrary arrests amid an operation against an ethnic Buddhist guerrilla force.

The army has denied the allegations.

Soldiers were previously accused of mass human rights violations against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine in 2017.

More than 70,000 people fled the country as a result of the crackdown on the ethnic minority group.

The military launched new operations in the area this year, after being instructed by the government to “crush” the Arakan Army rebels.

The western state is home to a number of ethnic groups of which the Buddhist Rakhine is the biggest.

In its report on Wednesday, Amnesty said civilians had been killed and injured in “indiscriminate attacks”.