Myanmar is hot again, fears of a repeat of the Rohingya massacre

Last Updated on August 25, 2024 8:45 am

Myanmar is hot again in the conflict between the junta forces and the rebel groups. Rohingyas are at extreme risk of persecution in the war-torn country. In the meantime, the United Nations has announced a new alarm. The organization has expressed fear that a genocide may happen again like in 2017 against the local Rohingya population in the country’s Rakhine State.

Volker Turk, head of the United Nations Human Rights Organization, expressed this fear on Friday. This information was reported by the Turkish media TRT World on Saturday, citing the Myanmar media The Irrawaddy.

According to the report, UN human rights chief Volker Turk has expressed grave concern about the sharply deteriorating situation across Myanmar, particularly in Rakhine.

He said hundreds of civilians have been killed in recent times fleeing the war. In November last year, the Arakan Army (AA), an insurgent group in Rakhine, launched a massive offensive against Myanmar’s junta forces. Since then Rakhine has been rocked by massive conflict. In this situation, the Rohingyas are being subjected to massive torture, including extrajudicial killings, abductions and indiscriminate bomb attacks in cities, Turk said.

According to the UN Human Rights Office, the Myanmar Army and the Arakan Army now control most of Rakhine’s townships. Both sides commit serious human rights violations against the Rohingya through extrajudicial killings, abductions, forced conscription, indiscriminate bombing and arson of towns and villages. Such attacks are in direct violation of all parties’ obligations under international human rights law and the temporary directives of the International Court of Justice to protect the Rohingya from further harm.

And Turk blamed both sides for this. He said both the army and the Arakan Army are directly responsible for the humanitarian disaster in Rakhine.

He also said that both sides should immediately stop attacks on civilians. Rohingya fleeing conflict must be protected. They must be guaranteed unfettered access to life-saving humanitarian assistance.

But the Arakan Army claims it is fighting for more autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine population in Rakhine State. However, there are still 6 lakh Rohingya Muslims in the state.

Earlier, in 2017, Myanmar’s junta forces carried out a massive massacre of Rohingya in Rakhine. A case is going on in the International Court of Justice.

“Thousands of Rohingyas have been forced to flee on foot,” said Volker Turk. The Arakan Army is taking them time and again to places that are less safe for shelter.’

At that time, he mentioned the Bangladesh border and said, ‘As the border crossing of Bangladesh is closed, the members of the Rohingya community are trapped between their own army and its allied forces and the Arakan Army. There is no safe way for them.

More than 1 million Rohingyas are still sheltering in Bangladesh. Referring to the issue, Volker Turk said, “This month marks the completion of seven years of military operations. As a result of the operation, 7 lakh (Rohingya) crossed the (Myanmar) border into Bangladesh. We are once again witnessing killing, destruction and displacement in Rakhine, even as the world says ‘never again’.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all parties to “stop the violence and ensure the protection of civilians” in a statement. He called for strengthening “regional security efforts, ensuring more opportunities for conflict-affected communities and providing more assistance to countries that have given them (the Rohingya) refuge”.