Rights group slams Rohingya massacre in Myanmar

An independent rights group has strongly condemned the recent atrocities against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

Fortify Rights said on Thursday that Myanmar must give humanitarian aid workers unlimited access to a Muslim village in the Western Rakhine state that was attacked last week by a Buddhist mob.

The group says as many as 40 people may have been killed in that attack alone.

“The actual number of deaths may be higher but information is circumscribed by government-imposed restrictions on access to the area,” the group said in a statement.

Fortify Rights also says its findings are based on eyewitness testimonies and credible sources on the ground.

The rights group called for an end to mass arrest of Muslim men and boys by Myanmar’s security forces.

Myanmar has repeatedly denied any deaths of its Muslim minority at the hands of Buddhist extremists.

Myanmar security forces have been accused of turning a blind eye to the atrocities against Muslims and even participating in rights violations against them.

Rakhine state has seen a wave of violence against the Muslim community that left hundreds of people dead over the past two years.

Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar account for about five percent of the country’s population of nearly 60 million. They have been persecuted and faced torture, neglect, and repression since the country’s independence in 1948.

Myanmar government has been repeatedly criticized for failing to protect the Rohingya Muslims.