By Kyaw Ye Lynn
YANGON, Myanmar (AA) - Three Muslim Rohingya men have been killed by militants for working alongside local officials in western Rakhine state, authorities said Monday.
State-run newspapers reported that local people found three bodies buried near Padakar village in Rakhine’s Maungdaw district, which borders Bangladesh.
Police identified the bodies as Mummad Shawphi, Sontar Ahmmed and Mummad Supaing, who went missing on Jan. 20.
A senior police officer told Anadolu Agency the villagers were believed to have been murdered for collaboration with the authorities in a crackdown on a gang who killed nine border police officers in October.
“They also refused to join the military training conducted by militants before the attacks,” the officer said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media. “Militants are now targeting Muslim villagers who are helping authorities.” he said.
The officer said at least six people accused of cooperating with the authorities had been killed in recent weeks.
Since Oct. 9, aid agencies and independent journalists have been denied access to majority Rohingya areas and at least 104 people -- 17 police and soldiers, 11 Muslim men working closely with the local authorities and 76 alleged “attackers”, including six who reportedly died during interrogation -- have been killed and more than 600 people arrested.
However, Rohingya advocacy groups claim around 400 Rohingya -- described by the UN as among the world’s most persecuted groups -- were killed in military operations, women were raped and more than 1,000 Rohingya villages torched.
A 1982 law denies Rohingya -- many of whom have lived in Myanmar for generations -- citizenship, making them stateless. It also removes freedom of movement, access to education and services and allows arbitrary confiscation of property.
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, on Friday said the armed insurgency in Rakhine state was due to the decades of institutionalized discrimination against the Rohingya.
According to a report by the International Crisis Group last month, the October attacks were masterminded by a Saudi-backed group called Harakah al-Yaqin, which has spent years recruiting and training fighters in Bangladesh and northern Rakhine following sectarian violence in 2012 between Rohingya and Buddhists.