Myanmar is committing crimes against humanity in its campaign against Muslim insurgents in Rakhine State, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday, calling for the UN Security Council to impose sanctions and an arms embargo.
Also, UNHCR called for a redoubling of international aid for the 4,80,000 refugees — 60 percent of them children — who have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25 to escape the violence.
“The Burmese military is brutally expelling the Rohingya from northern Rakhine state,” said James Ross, legal and policy director at at HRW.
HRW said its research, supported by satellite imagery, had found crimes of deportation, forced population transfers, murder and rape. However, government spokesman Zaw Htay rejected the accusations, saying that no Myanmar government had ever been as committed to the promotion of rights as the current one.
