6,700 Rohingya killed in Myanmar: Doctors

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2 Reuters reporters held

BANGKOK, Dec 14, (Agencies): International aid group Doctors Without Borders said its field survey has found at least 6,700 Rohingya Muslims were killed between August and September in a crackdown by Myanmar’s security forces.

The group, known by its French acronym MSF, said in a statement made available Thursday that it had conducted the survey in refugee camps in Bangladesh and estimated that at least 9,000 Rohingya died in Myanmar’s Rakhine state between Aug 25 and Sept 24. About 630,000 Rohingya have fl ed Myanmar into Bangladesh to escape what the United Nations has called “ethnic cleansing.”

The estimate of the number of deaths announced by the group compares to Myanmar’s government figure of 400 in September as a result of attacks on police posts by Rohingya militants. According to MSF, the dead included at least 730 children younger than 5. Myanmar’s Information Ministry had said that most of the 400 dead were “extremist terrorists” who died during the military’s “clearance operations.” International aid and rights groups have accused the military of arson, killings and rapes of Rohingya villagers.

Myanmar authorities blamed Rohingya militants for the violence. Reuters news agency said it was “outraged” by the arrest of two of its journalists in Myanmar Wednesday and accused authorities of an attack on press freedoms, as the US voiced concern over the detentions.

Myanmar reporters Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, were held under the Official Secrets Act, the government announced, accusing them of having documents relating to unrest in Rakhine State, where a military crackdown has sent Rohingya Muslims fleeing into neighbouring Bangladesh.

The United States Embassy in Myanmar said it was “deeply concerned” about the arrests and urged the government to allow access to the pair. “For a democracy to succeed, journalists need to be able to do their jobs freely,” it said in a statement.

Dublin councillors on Wednesday voted to revoke an award given to Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi to protest her handling of violence against Rohingya Muslims in her country, Irish media reported. The vast majority of councillors backed the move to revoke the Freedom of the City of Dublin award, with 59 votes in favour, two against and one abstention, broadcaster RTE said.

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