Arakan News Agency
Arakan news agency correspondent reported that authorities in Myanmar have begun to arrest and interrogate groups of Rohingya Muslims who have been affected by violence and rape in the recent military campaign in an attempt to discourage them from giving testimonies to international delegations.
The correspondent said that the detainees were subjected to psychological pressure and physical torture until the withdrawal of their confessions regarding what happened to them and their families from violations those affected them or acknowledge the retreat from the testimony they made before their release.
This comes after international demands to hold the Myanmar government accountable and the United Nations decision to set up an international commission of inquiry into the abuses committed against Rohingya Muslims in Arakan, Myanmar.
There are 18 cases of rape and killings by security forces in Maungdaw under investigation by the authorities, according to the police chief of Maungdaw, who told the Irrawaddy newspaper.
Rohingya locals expressed their fear and said it was aimed at pressuring the victims to back down their accusations and drop them under the threat before the arrival of the UN mission announced earlier.
