At least 9,400 Rohingya killed in one month: Aid group

By Dildar Baykan

ANKARA

Nearly 10,000 Rohingya people were killed in one month following Myanmar’s government-led crackdown in the Rakhine state in late August last year, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

The figures published in an MSF March report -- titled No One Was Left -- have shown that at least 9,400 people lost their lives in Myanmar between 25 Aug. and 24 Sept., and at least 6,700 of them died due to "violence".

At least 730 children under the age of five are also estimated to have been killed in the same period, the report showed.

According to the data, the injuries treated by MSF staff and results from MSF health surveys point to "the excessive use of force" by Myanmar security forces, and to "the widespread use of violence" against the Rohingya population.

"This violent persecution has resulted in high mortality amongst the Rohingya population in Myanmar, and has led to the forced displacement of those who survived it," it said.

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

Since Aug. 25, 2017, more than 750,000 refugees, mostly children and women, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community, according to Amnesty International.

The refugees are fleeing a military operation in which security forces and Buddhist mobs have killed men, women and children, looted homes, and torched Rohingya villages.

The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel.

In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.