YANGON: Facebook has banned four insurgent groups fighting against Myanmar’s military from its social network, the company said on Tuesday, saying it wanted to prevent offline harm by removing groups it branded “dangerous organizations.”
The US-based social media giant says it has removed hundreds of accounts, pages and groups for links to Myanmar’s military, or misrepresentation, since last August.
The action came after Facebook was criticized for not doing enough to prevent violent and hate-filled content spreading on its platform, which grew hugely popular in Myanmar just as conflicts in the country escalated.
The Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Kachin Independence Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army were banned, Facebook said in a statement on Tuesday, adding it would remove “praise, support and representation” of the groups.
“In an effort to prevent and disrupt offline harm, we do not allow organizations or individuals that proclaim a violent mission or engage in violence to have a presence on Facebook,” the company said.
The bans targeted only some of the ethnic minority insurgent groups in Myanmar that have battled for autonomy in conflicts that have raged on and off since shortly after Myanmar’s independence from Britain in 1948.
The four groups named by Facebook have not signed a government-led cease-fire agreement and have frequently clashed with the armed forces in recent years.
One group, the Kachin Independence Army, is one the strongest of the country’s insurgent groups and occupies territory in the north.
Another, the Arakan Army, has been engaged in fighting in the west since December that has displaced more than 5,000. It launched attacks last month that killed 13 Myanmar border police.
Facebook said there was “clear evidence that these organizations have been responsible for attacks against civilians and have engaged in violence in Myanmar, and we want to prevent them from using our services to further inflame tensions on the ground.”
Mong Aik Kyaw, a spokesman for the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, confirmed the group’s page was down, but declined to comment on Facebook’s reasoning.
The removal would restrict the group’s ability to “inform the public” about its activities, he said.
The other three groups were not immediately available for comment.
Some accounts related to Myanmar’s armed forces were first removed last August after a UN fact-finding mission called for top Myanmar generals to be prosecuted for what it said was a campaign of mass killings and gang rape against the Rohingya Muslim minority carried out with “genocidal intent.”
In 2017, the military led a crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents, pushing more than 730,000 Rohingya to neighboring Bangladesh, according to UN agencies.
A Reuters special report in August found that Facebook failed to promptly heed numerous warnings from organizations in Myanmar about social media posts fueling attacks on minority groups such as the Rohingya.
Facebook targets ‘dangerous’ armed groups in latest Myanmar bans
Facebook targets ‘dangerous’ armed groups in latest Myanmar bans
- The US-based social media giant says it has removed hundreds of accounts, pages and groups for links to Myanmar’s military, or misrepresentation, since last August
- The action came after Facebook was criticized for not doing enough to prevent violent and hate-filled content spreading on its platform
Western media refute Trump’s claims Iran possesses Tomahawk missiles
- Speaking to journalists, Trump suggested Tehran used US-made cruise missile in school attack that killed over 170, calling the weapon ‘very generic’
- CNN, Sky News and analysts said that ‘neither Israel nor Iran use Tomahawk missiles,’ urged accurate identification to ensure credibility in public discourse
LONDON: Western media outlets and defense analysts have pushed back against claims by US President Donald Trump that Iran possesses Tomahawk cruise missiles, after he raised the possibility while discussing a recent strike on an Iranian school that has drawn international scrutiny.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump suggested Iran may have used Tomahawks in the attack, calling the weapon “very generic” and implying that multiple countries, including Iran, could have access to the system.
However, journalists and weapons experts swiftly disputed that assertion. They noted that Tomahawk missiles are US-manufactured cruise missile systems that Washington supplies only to a small number of close allies, primarily the UK and Australia. There is no credible evidence that Iran has ever obtained the weapon.
CNN anchor Erin Burnett referenced an investigation by correspondent Isobel Yeong that concluded “neither Israel nor Iran use Tomahawk missiles, according to experts.” Sky News and other Western outlets also challenged Trump’s remarks.
Analysts pointed out that Iran has developed its own domestic cruise missile systems, such as the Soumar and Hoveyzeh, which are believed to be based partly on older Soviet-era designs.
While these systems resemble cruise missiles in concept, experts say they differ significantly from the Tomahawk in design, propulsion configuration and operational characteristics.
While Iran has made substantial advances in ballistic and domestically produced cruise missiles over the past two decades, defense analysts said there is no verified evidence that Tehran holds the American-made system.
The episode reflects a broader pattern in which statements about military technology are rapidly scrutinized by open-source investigators and defense experts.
Experts say the distinction is important: accurately identifying the type of missile used in a strike can provide clues about the likely actor responsible, the launch platform involved and the broader geopolitical consequences of a strike.
Analysts also say that accurate identification of military systems remains essential for avoiding misinformation and for maintaining credibility in public discourse surrounding regional security.
Despite the growing body of evidence, the precise circumstances of the school attack nonetheless remain unclear, with investigators hampered by a lack of weapons fragments and limited access to the site.
Norway-based rights group Hengaw said the school was holding its morning session at the time of the reported attack and had at least 168 children and 14 teachers.
Trump said the US was continuing to investigate the incident. “Whatever the report shows, I’m willing to live with that report,” he said.
