The international rights group, Human Rights Watch, has identified 40 new Rohingya villages that were burned during October and November in Rakhine State. With this, the total number of destroyed villages since August 25 stands at 354.
Dozens of buildings were reportedly set on fire at around the same time that Myanmar and Bangladesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (on November 23) to begin the repatriation of refugees. HRW said it used satellite imagery to assess and monitor over 1,000 villages and towns in the townships of Maungdaw, Buthidaung, and Rathiduang.
The report said at least 118 villages were destroyed after September 5, the date the Myanmar State Counsellor’s office announced an end to operations.
