UN Raises Alarm Over "Disturbing" Violence in Myanmar's Rakhine State

The UN Human Rights Office has expressed concern over "frightening and disturbing" reports of violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar, including attacks on Rohingya civilians by the military and an ethnic armed group.

The UN Human Rights Office has expressed deep concern over "frightening and disturbing" reports of violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar, including attacks on Rohingya civilians by the military and an ethnic armed group.

Spokesperson Liz Throssell cited the burning of the town of Buthidaung, air strikes, reports of shootings at unarmed fleeing villagers, beheadings, and disappearances as part of the recent violence in northern Rakhine.

"We are receiving frightening and disturbing reports from northern Rakhine state in Myanmar of the impacts of the conflict on civilian lives and property," she told a regular briefing in Geneva. "Some of the most serious allegations concern incidents of killing of Rohingya civilians and the burning of their property."

Tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced in recent days amid fighting in Buthidaung, according to Throssell, citing satellite images, testimonies, and online video indicating that the town has been largely burned.

She denounced signs of new attacks on Rohingya civilians by Burma's military and the Arakan Army, the military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority movement seeking autonomy from the central government.

One survivor reported seeing dozens of dead bodies as he fled Buthidaung, while others spoke of abuse and extortion by Arakan Army forces. The Arakan Army denies responsibility for the violence and claims to be protecting civilians in the conflict zone.

However, Rohingya activists have blamed the Arakan Army for much of the current destruction. The ethnic Rakhine nationalists whose cause the group espouses have long expressed antipathy towards the Rohingya.

The fighting comes amid a civil war that began after the military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, leading to an armed resistance opposing military rule.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller expressed deep concern over the reports of increased violence in Rakhine state and called on the military and armed groups to protect civilians and allow humanitarian access.

The Rohingya, who have faced persecution and discrimination in Myanmar for decades, were the targets of a brutal counterinsurgency campaign in 2017 that saw an estimated 740,000 flee to neighboring Bangladesh.

They have lived in Myanmar for generations but are widely regarded by many in the country's Buddhist majority as having illegally migrated from Bangladesh. The Rohingya face significant prejudice and are generally denied citizenship and other basic rights.