Myanmar Rohingyas being targeted: Amnesty

DHAKA: Human Rights group Amnesty International has denounced security forces and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists of carrying out fresh, targeted attacks against Rohingyas, the Muslim minority group in Myanmar.

Violence in the last six weeks has been "primarily one-sided, with Muslims generally and Rohingyas specifically the targets and victims,`` Benjamin Zawacki, a Bangkok-based researcher for Amnesty, said on Friday.

"Some of this is by the security forces` own hands, some by Rakhine Buddhists with the security forces turning a blind eye in some cases,`` he said.

The violence, which reached its bloodiest point in June, constituted some of the country`s deadliest sectarian bloodshed in years and raised international concerns about the Rohingyas fate inside Myanmar.

Following a series of isolated killings starting in late May that left victims on both sides, bloody skirmishes quickly spread across much of Myanmar`s coastal Rakhine state.

The government declared a state of emergency June 10, deploying troops to quell the unrest and protect both mosques and monasteries.

The worst of the violence subsided two weeks later, and authorities said at least 78 people were killed and thousands of homes were burned down or destroyed, with damages roughly split evenly between Buddhists and Muslims.

Source: Aljazeera

BDST: 0850 HRS, July 21, 2012
SA