More Rohingya Muslims are on the run from after three houses burned down from an arson attack. This is the third such incident in less than a fortnight.

On Friday, as the jumma prayers were taking place at Hati para, Maungdaw North, there was a loud burning noise. Witnesses say that as soon as the congregation finished, they rushed to the spot finding that a fire was burning the home of Ladu, s/o Abdur Shukkur.

Within moments, the fire spread to the adjoining homes of his brothers – – Habib Ullah and Solim Ullah.

Locals allege the Buddhist nationalist group 969 is behind the arson attack.

When the authorities heard of the incident, they said that the three brothers had masterminded the arson to give Buddhist nationalist groups a bad name.

Earlier on February 8, eight Rohingya houses burned down at Garaita Beel, Maundaw North. Witnesses say there was the presence of an inflammable chemical in the stove of the house where the fire originated and the presence of suspicious Rakhine nationalists in the neighbourhood during day time.

The government blamed Rohingya Muslims for setting their own houses on fire to discredit Buddhist nationalists.

Then on February 12, four houses burned down at Saheb para, Maungdaw South in a similar incident. Once again the authorities blamed the victims for trying to discredit Buddhist nationalists. They are currently in hiding to evade arrest.

BGP men have heavily assaulted five Rohingya Muslims, including four children last Sunday, according to our correspondent.

At around 10 pm, seven soldiers of the 550 battalion came to Koodan Kauk, Rathidaung under the influence of alcohol. There they found a Rohingya night guard Sabbir Ahmed (s/o Izhar Miah) wrapped in blankets in the company of his four children.

The BGP then told him why he is dozing in a blanket and playing with his children when he should be on alert duty. They then started assaulting all of them including the children.

They then took two chickens from the household leaving the Rohingyas bleeding on the ground.

Rohingya night guards are chosen arbitrarily by a local tabbe in coordination with authorities.

A Rohingya woman was raped by BGP personal as she attempted to cross over to Burma from Bangladesh on Friday.

Our local correspondent says that two young religious scholars (maulavis) were taking the women to her home to Rathidaung from Shaplapur in Bangladesh for the census.

As they began their journey from Bangladesh, the boatmen kept all their money and belongings before dumping them near barbed wires on the Burmese border.

Then as they tried to cross the barbed wire, a BGP patrol intercepted them and asked them to halt. At this point, the maulavis panicked and ran leaving the woman behind.

The woman was then raped and assaulted by the BGP men.

BGP later handed the woman to a Rohingya Muslim settlement at Nagpura, Maungdaw.