Kyaukpyu’s Muslim Quarter Razed to the Ground

Some 800 homes belonging to Rohingya Muslims were burnt down in Pauktaw on Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012 (PHOTO: Thi Ha / Facebook) 

Several hundred Rohingya people have fled their burning homes in Kyaukpyu Township and taken to the sea after deadly clashes on Tuesday night.

A local source told The Irrawaddy that the entire Muslim quarter—more than 300 houses belonging to the Rohingya community—was burned to the ground by Arakanese Buddhist [Rakhine] residents who were angry at reports that three local Rakhine men had been killed. An unknown number of Rohingyas were killed in Tuesday night’s violence. Eleven persons were reportedly admitted to hospital after rival groups clashed with machetes and other weapons.

The following day, 80 boats full of fleeing Rohingyas were spotted heading to open water. The source said that 54 boats departed from Kyaukpyu at 12:30 in the afternoon and another 26 boats left around 5 pm.

“There is no one left in the Muslim quarter,” he said. “They have all fled and were heading to Sittwe.”

Sittwe is the capital of Arakan State. The Rohingya boatpeople are thought to be seeking the shelter of a neighborhood in the city where security is overseen by state authorities.

A resident from Kyaukpyu Township told The Irrawaddy on Thursday morning that tensions were high in the town and that the army had been deployed.

Burma’s state-run media reported on Thursday that only 69 houses were burned down and 20 persons were wounded on Tuesday night, while on Wednesday morning one person was killed, eight were wounded and some 700 houses were torched.

The Burmese service of BBC radio reported on Wednesday that 20 Rohingyas and six Rakhine men had been killed in riots in Myebon Township. It said that some 200 Rohingya people from Myebon had been made homeless and had fled in fear to the mountainous jungle nearby.

The resurgence in sectarian violence follows incidents earlier this week in Minbyar Township where one Rakhine man and two Rohingya women were killed. The violence then spread to Mrauk-U Township.

Burma’s state-run media reported on Wednesday that just two people were killed—one Buddhist, one Muslim—in Minbyar and Mrauk-U townships while 1,039 local houses were destroyed.

Thousands of people from both sides of the ongoing conflict have abandoned their villages in fear of reprisals and are currently seeking shelter in other locations. Many Buddhist Arakanese are reportedly sheltering in Buddhist temples, according to a local source.

The Arakan State government has imposed a curfew in Minbyar and Mrauk-U following the unrest, which began on Sunday night.

Hundreds of Rakhine students protested in Sittwe on Wednesday, claiming that they were unable to study under the security conditions in the city.

Some 70,000 people are estimated to have become homeless since the sectarian violence ignited in June.

Meanwhile, Burma’s opposition party National League for Democracy on Thursday urged the Burmese government to take further security measures to stop the ongoing violence in Arakan State and re-establish peace and security in townships such as Kyaukpyu, Minbyar, Mrauk-U and Ann. The 88 Generation Students group also released a statement calling on all people in Burma to work together to resolve this conflict, stressing that a solution must be based on democracy and human rights.

Myanmar violence forces more Rohingya Muslims to flee homes

An elderly Rohingya Muslim woman sits outside her tent at a camp in Rakhine state. (File photo)

Muslims in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine have been forced to flee to emergency camps, as extremist Buddhists step up attacks on the Rohingya Muslims.

Government officials said hundreds of homes have been torched in the latest round of violence in Rakhine, where clashes broke out between Buddhists and Rohingyas.

Rakhine state spokesman Myo Thant said at least five Muslims have been killed and about 80 others wounded in four communities since October 21.

Tensions have heightened across Rakhine, and the Myanmar government has imposed a curfew in several areas.

According to figures by the United Nations Refugee Agency, over 1,000 displaced Rohingyas have arrived in Rakhine’s capital Sittwe over the past few days.

“Many more are supposed to be on their way. These people are all coming to the IDP (internally displaced person) camps close to Sittwe, which are already overcrowded,” said UN Refugee Agency spokesperson Vivian Tan.

Myanmar army forces allegedly provided the Buddhists with containers of petrol to set ablaze the houses of Muslim villagers and force them out of their houses.

The silence of human rights organizations toward the abuses against Rohingyas has emboldened the extremist Buddhists and Myanmar’s government forces.

The Buddhist-majority government of Myanmar refuses to recognize Rohingyas and has classified them as illegal migrants, even though the Rohingyas are said to be Muslim descendants of Persian, Turkish, Bengali, and Pathan origins, who migrated to Myanmar as early as the 8th century.

Reports say some 650 Rohingyas have been killed in Rakhine over the past few months. About 1,200 others are also missing and 80,000 more have been displaced.

Setting fire and killing Rohingyas resumes in Kyauk Taw

On 25th October, 2012, at 5:30am, thousands of Bengali Rakhine Terrorists in coalition with police surrounded a Rohingya village, Let Saung Kauk village, Kyauk Taw Township. While Rohingyas were praying their early morning prayer (Fajar Namaz) in a mosque in congregation, these Rakhine terrorists set fire initially at the south edge of the said village. Not fewer than 20 Rohingya houses were burnt down to ashes. These Bengali Rakhine terrorists are equipped with guns, most probably provided by the government armed officers, openly fired to the Rohingya mob, who are totally helpless and trying their best to escape only from the life-risk. Two Rohingya were shot to death by these Terrorist and Police on the spot. One Rohingya was seriously injured. The killed Rohingyas are identified: 

1. Bay Larl (F) U Ba Lii 

2. Son of Bi Ya Roe (his name is still under inquisition process) 

The injured Rohingya is Raha Nawddin, son of U Khin Maung, 45 years and he was fired by police face-to-face. It is a big question to everybody whether he will be alive or dead soon. His father is a pensioner of a government department. Now military is trying to control the situation in a certain degree. 

This report is compiled by basing on the telephone talk with a villager from the violence happening.

Nasaka killed Rohingya woman at Maungdaw

Maungdaw, Arakan State:  A Rohingya woman was killed by Burma’s border security force (Nasaka) on October 22, at her house while she was resisting Nasaka from arresting her son over accusation that he was holding a Bangladeshi mobile set, said a close relative of the victim.
“The victim was identified as Ms Hasina Khatun (50), wife of Sheraz, hailed from Oo Shaikya (Bura Shida Para) village, under Nasaka area No.5 of Maungdaw north.”

“On that day, at around 10:00 pm, a group of Nasaka from Nasaka area No.5 went to the victim’s house to arrest her son Noor Mohamed over the allegation that he was holding a Bangladeshi mobile set. But, the Nasaka did not find any mobile set from her son.  However, the Nasaka group was trying to arrest her son; as a result, Ms Hasina resisted the Nasaka from arresting her son. Meanwhile, the Nasaka became furious and hit her head with the bud of gun, hence, the woman was dead on the spot. After that the Nasaka left for their camp leaving the Noor Mohamed.”
Later, a group of villagers accompanied by her relatives went to the local Nassaka camp to appraise the event. The Nasaka commander told them that they will see the matter later.  So the villagers returned to their homes.
The next day, on October 23, the Nasaka Director Lt Col Maung Maung Oo accompanied by some Nasaka personnel went to the village and ordered to bury the dead body, according to a local elder.
Nasaka extorts money from Rohingya villagers after giving false and fabricated accusations is daily work of them, said a local elder who denied to be named.

More than 40 boats of Rohingyas float in the river

Kyaukpru, Arakan State:  More than 40 boats of Rohingyas are floating in the river near the Akyab today evening, according to a reliable person from Akyab.
“The boats tried to land in Akyab as the boats had no fuel, water, foods and medicines, but the security forces and Immigration officers were not allowed to land on Akyab.”
“The boats were pushed back to the river and the boats are now floating in the river.”
Rohingyas from Akyab tried to help the boats load Rohingyas from Kyaukpru with fuel, water and foods. The Rohingyas from Akyab also tried to help the wounded people for medical treatment and medicines for other people, according to an elder from Akyab.
“The information about floating boats spread all over the Rohingyas IDPs camps and reaming Rohingya villages in Akyab as well as Rakhine. The Rakhines are trying to attack the floating boats in the river. The boats want to land into Akyab, but the authorities didn’t allow them to enter. Rakhines are planning to kill this boats load Rohingyas.”
“There are more than 15,000 Rohingyas on boats and their fate is unknown.”
Some, Rohingya  from northern Arakan wished to reach this boats load Rohingyas to enter in Maungdaw or Bangladesh side for their save place as temporally to solve their rights in Burma.
Similarly, over 2000 Rohingyas, whose houses were burnt down to ashes, from Ywa Thit and Ywa Haung villages, Pauktaw township, tried  to escape from their areas with  7 engine boats, 55  paddling boats and one sampan to Akyab to save their lives today, according to a Rohingya from Pauktaw.
“These Rohingyas group were attacked by Rakhines where some boats and sampan were sunk in the water. More than,100 Rohingyas died in the attacked. The dead bodies are floating in the river.”
“The group also not allowed to land by authorities and the y are also floating in the sea. God know their fate.”

Hundreds of homes burned in renewed Burmese ethnic violence | Dean Nelson

A fire burns in the Pike Sake quarter in Kyout Phyu, Rakhine state, western Myanmar Photo: EPA

More than a thousand homes have been razed in renewed ethnic violence between Burma's Rakhine Buddhists and its Rohingya Muslim minority.

Curfews were enforced in two towns in Rakhine state in north-west Burma following new clashes just months after more than 80 people were killed in June.

Then, violence broke out following claims that a Buddhist woman was raped by three Rohingya Muslim men.

Rohingya leaders claim more than 600 of their people were killed, hundreds more remain missing and more than 80,000 fled their homes.

The violence has spread to neighbouring Assam in India and to Bangladesh where Buddhist temples have been attacked by Rohingya groups seeking revenge.

The continuing violence erupted as world leaders lauded the efforts of President Thein Sein and the country's Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to usher in new democratic reforms.

Since then, Aung San Suu Kyi has been criticised for ducking questions on the clashes although on Tuesday she voiced her concerns and said the absence of rule of law was to blame.

"Of course I am worried about the situation there. Actually, this situation can be expected. As I often said, there must be the rule of law to prevent this sort of problem. It cannot be sorted out overnight," she said.

The conflict however remains unsolved and three people have been killed since Sunday in clashes which saw more than 1000 homes burned to the ground. Curfews were imposed in Minbya and Mrauk Oo, but has spread to other towns.

According to Reuters, violence had yet to be contained in Myay Bone, where local sources blamed Rohingyas for the clashes. "The local Rohingyas prepared boats for escape. Just before escape, they started setting fires. Then the Arakans (local Rakhine people) chased them down, seized one of the Rohingyas who had started a fire and also burnt the Rohingyas' boats prepared for escape," the source said.

The Rohingya Muslims are believed to be one of the world's most persecuted groups. There are an estimated 800,000 living close to Burma's border with Bangladesh but neither state accepts them as their own.In Burma they are regarded as 'Bengali immigrants'.

News of Rohingya in Pauktaw , Mre Bon and Kaukphyu Tsp, Arakan ,Burma

24-10-2012, Pauktaw Township

About 100 Rohingyas of Quarter No.3, Pauktaw Township were trying to go Akyab (Sittwe) by four boats which have no engines. Mean while, strong Rakhine terrorist group with a big boat interrupted and captured Rohingya boats. Terrorists transferred all Rohingya children and women to their boat. And they killed all young and elder Rohingya men in the river inhumanly. 

Only one young boy escaped from this mass killing, who being examined by the military official of Quarter No.4 of Pauktaw. About life safety for the Rohingyas who were transferred to terrorists boat is unknown. 

24-10-2012, Kyauk Phyu Township 

Rohingya village, Paik Seik Ywa (Zaillya Fara) has been burning down by Rakhine terrorists since yesterday. About 2000 Rohingyas of that village went to the sea by 50 boats to escape their lives from the mass killing by Rakhines. But another 20 boats were burnt to ashes and more than 600 Rohingyas were under mass killing, who were waiting for tidal wave to run away with those boats. 

24-10-2012, Mre bon Township 

About 1500 Rohingyas of Mre Bon (Myay Bon) township have arrived to Akyab (Sittwe) by boats, today. There had five Rohingya quarters with about 600 homes and 4500 population. All Rohingya quarters were burnt down to ashes and many Rohingyas were killed. For the lack capability of media, the information about remaining Rohingyas is not available. 

Further, six villages of Minbya and two villages of Mrauk-U Townships have been burnt down since 21th October, 2012. About 4000 Rohingya houses and dozen of religious building were burnt down. 

Reported by : Nyi Nyi Aung