Two elite divisions led a crackdown that forced 700,000 Muslims to flee Myanmar. Here’s how they did it.
Arakan News Agency A Reuters investigation provides the first comprehensive account of the precise role played by Myanmar’s 33rd and 99th light infantry divisions in the savage offensive, and the close ties between the army’s commander in chief and its elite troops. In early August last year, a young lieutenant named Kyi Nyan Lynn flew to […]
US: Violence against Rohingya continued in 2017
Arakan News Agency The U.S.’ International Religious Freedom Report 2017 released on Tuesday stated that violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar continued last year. “Violence, discrimination, and harassment against ethnic Rohingya, who are nearly all Muslim, and other minority populations continued,” said the annual U.S. State Department report. Calling the situation of the Rohingya “desperate,” […]
Security Council team meets Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
Arakan News Agency A U.N. Security Council delegation is in Bangladesh for a firsthand look at the plight of some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled Myanmar to escape military-led violence and are seeking U.N. protection to return home. The team will meet some of the refugees, including victims of rape and torture, on Sunday. […]
‘Dhaka should provide UNSC with strong evidence of Rohingya persecution’
Arakan News Agency Bangladesh needs to provide “strong and unassailable evidence” backed up by documents to make its case as a high-profile delegation of the UN Security Council is set to visit Rohingya camp on Sunday, says an international analyst. “Of course, the refugees are incontrovertible proof of persecution and ethnic cleansing, but thus far […]
Turnbull government to commit $15 million to Rohingya crisis
Arakan News Agency The Australian federal government will spend $15 million in the May budget on providing humanitarian assistance for the Rohingya crisis. The commitment comes after Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh in Sydney on Saturday to discuss a solution to a situation that has caused 900,000 Rohingya […]
Myanmar troops kill Rohingya man and throw his body into the river
Arakan News Agency A Rohingya man was killed by border guards in Arakan province of Myanmar after a brutal attack on Tuesday. Activists told the Arakan news agency that the Rohingya man had fled his village to another place in Buthidaung after the recent events in August. According to the activists, the man returned to […]
Predatory animals devours the body of a Rohingya child found dead
Arakan News Agency Local residents in the city of Buthidaung, Arakan state, found the body of a Rohingya child who has been eaten down by predators after being killed by unidentified Buddhist extremists. A relative of the victim told Arakan news agency that the boy had been sent by his family outside the village to […]
Indonesia wants end to Rohingya crisis, Jokowi tells Myint
Arakan News Agency President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has reiterated Indonesia’s commitment to assist the Myanmar government in solving the Rohingya crisis. Shortly after arriving in Singapore to attend the 32nd ASEAN Summit, the President held a bilateral meeting with Myanmar’s new president, Win Myint, on Friday afternoon, during which Jokowi expressed concern over the ongoing crisis. Jokowi […]
UN to appoint Swiss ambassador to Germany as Myanmar envoy
Arakan News Agency UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will appoint the Swiss ambassador to Germany, Ms Christine Schraner Burgener, to be his new special envoy to Myanmar, UN sources said Wednesday. The General Assembly in December asked Guterres to appoint a special envoy in a resolution that called on Myanmar to end its military campaign in […]
Bob Geldof describes Aung San Suu Kyi as a ‘pig’ as he opens up about handing back Freedom of Dublin
Arakan News Agency Bob Geldof has said he didn’t want to hand back the Freedom of Dublin but didn’t want to be associated Aung San Suu Kyi, who he described as a “pig”. The Boomtown Rats frontman publicly handed back the honour in November to protest against the Myanmar leader also having received the award. […]
Myanmar clears some Rohingya for return but no date on horizon
Arakan News Agency A Bangladesh official said on Thursday (Mar 29) that Myanmar had approved several hundred Rohingya from a list of thousands to return to their homeland, but provided no indication of when the long-delayed process would begin. Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed in November to repatriate three-quarters of a million Rohingya but the deal […]
Amal Clooney agrees to represent two Reuters journalists on trial in Myanmar over Rohingya ‘massacre’ reporting
Arakan News Agency Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney will serve as counsel to two Reuters reports on trial for allegedly breaching the Official Secrets Act in Myanmar. Clooney, wife of Hollywood actor George, has been instructed by Reuters and the two defendants: Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. The pair of investigative reporters were arrested […]
Rohingya persecution similar to genocide by Nazis: US interfaith group
Arakan News Agency A visiting US interfaith group on Wednesday said that persecution and murders of Rohingyas was similar to genocide committed by Nazis in Europe. At a press conference in Dhaka, they urged the world community to play role in establishing a safe zone for Rohingyas in Arakan State of Myanmar with protection of […]