Terrorist attacks escalate in Myanmar's Rakhine state!

Terrorism is just terrorism regardless of religion and ethnic groups. 

The terrorists attacked to the government offices especially armed forces such as police post, army camps, immigration offices, etc. on 25 August 2017 in the northern Rakhine State. It is clear that those attacks are a calculated attempt to undermine the efforts of those seeking to build peace and harmony in Rakhine State.

This issue is so complicated for our Myanmar government because there are so many background histories and deception.

And now the extremists' attacking become a threat to our national sovereignty.

So, I do strongly condemn those brutal attacks by terrorists in our country.

 

Terrorist attacks escalate in Myanmar's Rakhine state

By Xinhua : Sunday, August 27, 2017, 11:31

 

In this image made from video, a man lying on a bed with a bandaged hand is cared for in a hospital in Buthidaung township, Myanmar, Aug 25, 2017. Myanmar’s State Counselor's Office said on Aug 27, 2017 that terrorist groups killed six civilians and ambushed a police convoy with improvised explosive devices on Saturday, a day after the extremists attacked 30 police outposts and killed 12 security personnel in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state. (DVB VIA AP)

YANGON – Terrorist attacks have escalated in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state with six more civilians being killed in a new wave of ambush by terrorists on Saturday, the State Counselor's Office said on Sunday.

The terrorist group also ambushed a police convoy with improvised explosive devices, triggering a clash that left one terrorist dead. The civilians killed included several village heads and a child in Maungtaw township.

The attacks came a day after extremist terrorists launched renewed attacks on 30 police outposts in Rakhine state, killing 12 security personnel and an immigration officer. The clashes left 77 terrorists dead with two captured alive so far.

In another incident during the day, 150 terrorists, armed with machetes, tried to attack security forces but the attack was repelled.

Police at Kyunpauk Pyusu outpost also dispersed about 300 terrorists approaching the outpost.

The terrorists burnt down a village in Myinlut, destroying 88 houses, more than 100 shops, two mosques, eight religious schools, nine vehicles and four motorcycles and then fled to Mayu mountain.

Also about 500 other extremist terrorists attempted to enter a village in Yethedaung township but were fought back.

Security forces have been reinforced to fight the terrorists.

Myanmar authorities on Friday declared the armed attackers and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) as extremist terrorist groups who have claimed the responsibility for Friday's attacks.

In this July 14, 2017 photo, a border patrol stands guard at a police post that was previously attacked by a Muslim terrorist group in Kyee Kan Pyin, Buthidaung, Rakhine state Myanmar. (ESTHER HTUSAN / AP)

A statement of the State Counselor's Office condemned the terrorist attacks on the security forces, saying the acts were systematically plotted to cripple the efforts for peace, stability and co-existence of the local communities. It insisted the government’s determined efforts would not waver due to atrocious acts of brutality of extreme terrorists.

In the statement, the State Counselor Office voiced commitment to finding effective solution with regard to the issues in Rakhine state through pragmatic and durable methods, while welcoming the constructive approach of the final report of the Advisory Commission on Raklhine state, led by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.

Myanmar's National Human Rights Commission has condemned Friday's deadly terrorist attacks on the security forces.

A statement from the commission released on late Saturday described the attacks as brutal acts which adversely affects the efforts of the government on stabilization and reconciliation in Rakhine state.

Deadly clashes erupt in Myanmar's restive Rakhine state

Government says Rohingya rebels and troops killed as group launches attack day after report warns of further unrest.

Tensions have boiled over in recent weeks with the military moving hundreds of troops into remote villages [File: Reuters]

At least 77 Rohingya Muslims and 12 members of security forces were reportedly killed in the Rakhine state of Myanmar after a rebel group launched pre-dawn raids on police posts and tried to break into an army base.

The office of Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, announced the death toll in a statement on Saturday, claiming the Rohingya killed were fighters.

A statement on Friday said that an estimated 150 fighters staged coordinated attacks at around 1am local time in the northern Maungdaw township.

The clashes came hours after a panel led by former UN chief Kofi Annan urged Myanmar to lift restrictions on movement and citizenship for Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority. 

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) claimed responsibility for the attacks in a Twitter post but did not mention casualty figures or how many fighters were involved.

ARSA, accusing the Myanmar forces of killings and rape, said on Friday it was "taking defensive actions" in more than 25 different locations.

The township of Rathetaung in northern Rakhine has been under "a blockade for more than two weeks which is starving the Rohingya people to death", it said.

"As they prepare to do the same in Maungdaw … we had to eventually step up in order to drive the Burmese colonising forces away."

The group warned of more attacks to come.

ARSA was formed by Rohingya living in Saudi Arabia after a bout of serious communal violence in 2012, according to the International Crisis Group.

Suu Kyi's office said, "extremist Bengali insurgents attacked a police station in Maungdaw region in northern Rakhine state with a handmade bomb explosive and held coordinated attacks on several police posts".

READ MORE: The trouble with Aung San Suu Kyi

Using the term "Bengali" is a derogatory way to describe the Rohingya Muslims, implying they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

The fighters had seized weapons from police, Suu Kyi's office said.

Al Jazeera's Florence Looi, reporting from Yangon, said the violence would further divide Myanmar.

"It is going to affect sentiment on the ground. Already, the Rakhine Buddhists we spoke to don't want to live with the Muslim community. They say the Rohingyas side with terrorists or fighters.

"And on the part of the Rohingya villagers, we have received reports of beatings and indiscriminate killings, arbitrary arrests. So all of this makes the two sides more polarised."

Escalating violence

The UN has expressed concern over Friday's violence, urging "all parties to refrain from violence, protect civilians and restore order".

The clashes mark an escalation in a conflict simmering in Rakhine since last October when similar events prompted a massive military operation that caused more than 80,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh.

After a period of easing violence, tensions rose again in recent weeks with the military moving hundreds of troops into remote villages to flush out fighters amid a spate of killings of Buddhists.

Will Myanmar honour recommendations for persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority?

The Rohingya Muslims are denied citizenship in Myanmar and are classified as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, despite claiming roots in the region that go back centuries.

There are approximately 1.1 million Rohingya in Myanmar.

The mistreatment of the Rohingya Muslims, often described as the world's most persecuted minority, has emerged as Myanmar's most contentious human rights issue as it makes a transition from decades of military rule.

The UN believes Myanmar security forces may have committed crimes against humanity against the Rohingya Muslims. The military rejects the allegations.

Annan's Rakhine commission said Suu Kyi's government should respond to the crisis in a "calibrated" way without excessive force.

It warned of radicalisation on both sides if problems were not addressed quickly, advising Myanmar to address "legitimate concerns" of the Rohingya.

The commission was formed last year at Suu Kyi's request, and her government has previously vowed to abide by its findings.

Journalists and observers are denied access to northern Rakhine, and the government has refused entry to a UN mission seeking to investigate human rights abuses there. 

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies