Army gang rapes minor girls, assaults innocent people in Maungdaw

Army gang rapes minor girls, assaults innocent people in Maungdaw: By Kyaw Win, The Stateless Rohingya

Maungdaw – Myanmar security forces are using sexual violence against Rohingya women including young girls in Kyar Gaung Taung (Rabailla) village tract of Maungdaw North. The violence was carried out on 12 December 2016 soon after the visit of investigation commission.

According to an eyewitness from Kyar Gaung Taung village who herself was a victim of sexual harassment, a group of Myanmar army officers conducted raid in the village. During the raid, the army personnel were engaged in gross human rights abuses including gang rape of women and as well as under aged girls in the early morning of last Monday.

The woman said, “Seeing the army coming towards the village, the male members of the community fled away to escape tortures and arbitrary arrests by the military. We, around 15 women including girls remained in a house as we could not escape.

We, bunch of these left out women, now already organized as a group, were pulled outside by the army soon after their arrival at the village. They used physical force like beating to drive us out of the village. Before that, the military picked three girls out of our group. The army then forcibly pulled the girls into the house and gang raped them there.

When we refused to leave our village without the rape victims, we were beaten and threatened to be shot.”

The victims were identified as Arafa Khatun (Married) D/O Shomsu, Rashida and Showkat Ara D/O Nurul Islam (Minor girls) of Kya Gan Taung.

The army also arrested around six innocent men acting as a translator between some Rohingya people who were trying to disclose in detail of the security forces involvement in violence against the Rohingya and the members of the investigation committee. These helping men were brutally tortured and were left unconscious.

The arrestees were identified as Zafar Hussain age 72 son of  Abdu Sattar, Moahmaed Salam 50 s/o Nazir Hussain, Abu Siddik 15 s/o Abul Hair, Basir Ahamed 70 s/o Hakim Ali, Saddam Hussain 17 s/o Abul Hair and Abul Hashim 53 s/o Nazir Hussain of

Yae Khat Chaung Gwa Son (Borgozibil) of Maungdaw north.

The army gang raped Rohingya women at gun points even not leaving minor girls the next day after the Investigation Commission formed by the Myanmar president, U Htin Kyaw left.

“It clearly proves that Myanmar security forces have been committing crimes against humanity including rape of Rohingya women since the alleged attack on BGP by “Rights Defenders” on 9 October 2016”, said Karim Ullah.

Despite the several visits of different investigation teams in the affected areas of Maungdaw north, human rights violation including sexual violence is escalating against the Rohingya people. As a result, they are left without choice to flee to Bangladesh, where hundreds of the asylum seekers have gone missing. Many died as their boats capsized while crossing the river to Bangladesh. Now after days some of their corpses are found floating in the river.