UN Alarmed by Civilian Casualties in Myanmar Attacks against Muslim Rohingya

By Staff, Agencies

The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has expressed “alarm” at reports that the Myanmar military is bombing civilian areas.

Guterres called for calm late on Monday following reports that continuing air attacks on villages in the restive country’s Rakhine state have killed dozens.

Guterres is “alarmed by reports of ongoing air strikes by the military, including today in Minbya township that reportedly killed and injured many civilians,” Farhan Haq, the UN chief’s deputy spokesperson, said.

“The expansion of conflict in Rakhine State is driving displacement and exacerbating pre-existing vulnerabilities and discrimination,” he said. “The secretary general calls on all parties to prevent further incitement of communal tensions.”

Minbya township lies east of the state capital of Sittwe, which has been all but cut off by Arakan Army fighters in recent weeks.

The air raid hit the village of Thar Dar, a predominantly Rohingya village about 5km (3 miles) north of Minbya, early on Monday, killing 10 men, four women and 10 children, one resident said.

Another resident, also asking for anonymity, said 23 people had been killed in the blast and 18 wounded.

With most mobile networks down, communication with the riverine region is extremely difficult.

Muslim Rohingya have faced persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar for decades and nearly a million of them live in crammed camps in neighboring Bangladesh’s border district of Cox’s Bazar. Most fled a military crackdown in 2017.