Myanmar engages Rohingyas in deadly battle

By Kyaw Ye Lynn

YANGON, Myanmar (AA) - The Myanmar military on Friday said it has killed at least 370 alleged Rohingya fighters during fierce battles in western Rakhine state.

Myanmar began military operations against the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), for alleged attacks on police outposts and a militay base in Maungdaw district of Rakhine state on August 25th.

A press release from the office of military chief Sen.Gen Min Aung Hlaing on Friday said that since Aug. 25, troops and fighters have engaged in more than 90 clashes.

It said troops killed 370 Rohingyas and caught nine alive in these clashes while it lost 15 including two soldiers. The military claimed that 14 non-Muslim civilians have been killed by Rohingya fighters since the Aug. 25 attacks.

It accused the Rohingyas of setting fire to 2763 houses in 35 villages in the area.

Since Friday, more than 20,000 Rohingya Muslims have entered Bangladesh without authorization despite Bangladeshi counter-measures. Tens of thousands of Rohingya are also continuing to wait near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, the source said.

At least 10 children and nine women were killed when a boat carrying Rohingyas capsized off Bangladesh’s southeastern coast early Thursday.

Violence erupted in Myanmar’s Rakhine state on Aug. 25 when the country’s security forces launched an operation against the Rohingya Muslim community. It triggered a fresh influx of refugees towards neighboring Bangladesh, though the country sealed off its border to refugees.

Media reports said Myanmar security forces used disproportionate force, displacing thousands of Rohingya villagers and destroying their homes with mortars and machine guns.