Over 4,500 villagers have been displaced by the most recent flareup in fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army in Rakhine state, the UN reported on Tuesday. RNA - The displacement figure, provided by UN Spokesman Farhan Haq, runs through January 7, Anadolu news agency reported.
Haq said troop movements and clashes have continued over recent days following attacks by the insurgent group on police posts in Buthidaung Township on January 4.
The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs led a December 29-31 mission into the villages of Taung Min Kalar and Kan Sauk in Kyauktaw township and Auk Thin Pone Tan and Hpar Kywe Wa in Ponnagyun township, which were then hosting 1,600 internally displaced persons.
Fighting renewed in Rakhine state in early December between government forces and the rebel Arakan Army, which wants greater autonomy for Rakhine, where the mainly Buddhist Rakhine ethnic group makes up the majority. The Arakan Army does not cite religion as a factor in its insurgency.
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.
The UN has documented mass gang rapes, killings --- including of infants and young children --- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by Myanmar state forces. In a report, UN investigators noted that such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.
Since August 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).
According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly children and women, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community.
Last month, the US House of Representatives passed a resolution calling the ongoing violence against the Rohingya "genocide".
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