COX’S BAZAR: Myanmar urged Muslims in the troubled northwest to cooperate in the search for insurgents, whose coordinated attacks on security posts and an army crackdown have led to one of the deadliest bouts of violence to engulf the Rohingya community in decades.
Aid agencies estimate about 73,000 Rohingya have fled into neighboring Bangladesh from Myanmar since violence erupted last week, Vivian Tan, regional spokeswoman for UN refugee agency UNHCR, told Reuters on Sunday.
Hundreds more refugees on Sunday walked through rice paddies from the Naf river separating the two countries into Bangladesh, straining scarce resources of aid groups and local communities already helping tens of thousands.
The clashes and military counteroffensive have killed nearly 400 people during the past week.
The treatment of Buddhist-majority Myanmar’s roughly 1.1 million Muslim Rohingya is the biggest challenge facing leader Aung San Suu Kyi, accused by Western critics of not speaking out for the minority that has long complained of persecution.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that violence against Muslims amounted to genocide.
It marks a dramatic escalation of a conflict that has simmered since October, when a smaller Rohingya attack on security posts prompted a military response dogged by allegations of rights abuses.
“Islamic villagers in northern Maungtaw have been urged over loudspeakers to cooperate when security forces search for Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) extremist terrorists, and not to pose a threat or brandish weapons when security forces enter their villages,” the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said on Sunday.
ARSA has been declared a terrorist organization by the government. The group claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks on security posts last week.
In Maungni village in northern Rakhine, villagers earlier this week caught two ARSA members and handed them over to the authorities, the newspaper added.
The army wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday that Rohingya insurgents had set fires to monasteries, images of Buddha as well as schools and houses in northern Rakhine.
More than 200 buildings, including houses and shops, were destroyed across several villages, the army said.
While Myanmar officials blamed the ARSA for the burning of the homes, Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh and human rights watchers say a campaign of arson and killings by the army is aimed at trying to force the minority group out.
More than 11,700 “ethnic residents” had been evacuated from northern Rakhine, the government has said, referring to non-Muslims.
Myanmar urges Rohingya Muslims to help hunt insurgents amid deadly violence
Myanmar urges Rohingya Muslims to help hunt insurgents amid deadly violence
Militants kill four peace committee members in northwestern Pakistan— police
- Victims were businessmen involved with the Peace Committee in its efforts against Pakistani Taliban, says police official
- Development takes a day after six cops were killed in IED blast in northwestern Tank district, signaling surge in militant attacks
ISLAMABAD: Four members of a pro-government peace committee were killed by militants in northwestern Pakistan’s Bannu district on Tuesday, a police official confirmed amid a surge in attacks in the area.
Peace committees in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province bordering Afghanistan comprise tribal elders who publicly oppose militant groups such as the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Members of the peace committee have long been targeted by militants for cooperating with security forces in counterinsurgency operations. These groups were first formed during Pakistan’s 2007–2014 conflict years to help defend villages and report militant movements.
The peace committee members were targeted in an area of Bannu district that falls under the jurisdiction of Huwaid Police Station, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Raza Khan told Arab News. The victims were attacked while they were traveling in a car in the morning.
“All four were businessmen and were actively involved with the Peace Committee in efforts against the Taliban,” Khan said.
According to a police report seen by Arab News, the deceased were identified as Naseeb Ur Rehman, Hamid Naseeb, Ziaullah, while the fourth person was identified as “Fauji.”
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi expressed sorrow over the loss of lives in the attack, a statement by the interior ministry said.
“All conspiracies aimed at undermining peace efforts in KP would be thwarted,” Naqvi said.
He said the nation stands united to foil the nefarious designs of the Pakistani Taliban or TTP militants, reaffirming the government’s commitment to restoring and maintaining peace in the province.
KP has been reeling from a surge in militant attacks in recent months. A day earlier, an improvised explosive device (IED) blast killed six police officers in the province’s Tank district.
No group has claimed responsibility for these attacks. However, the TTP has claimed responsibility for some of the deadliest attacks targeting law enforcement personnel in KP in the past. It has frequently targeted convoys of security forces, police stations and check-posts besides kidnapping government officials in the region.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil to armed outfits such as the TTP. It has also alleged that India backs militant groups who carry out attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi have consistently denied this.
