As the violence in Myanmar continues to worsen, the number of Muslim Rohingya villages torched by the army and Buddhist fanatics since last October has risen to 40, bringing the total of destroyed towns and villages belonging to the persecuted Rohingya minority since the breakout of the crisis on Aug. 25 to 354, according to the Human Rights Watch Organization (HRW).
A report, published by HRW recently, cited satellite imagery showing torched Muslim villages in Rakhine State.
Since Aug. 25, some 650,000 Rohingya have crossed from Myanmar's western state of Rakhine into Bangladesh, according to the UN.
The refugees are fleeing a military crackdown in which security forces and Buddhist mobs have killed men, women and children, looted homes, and torched Rohingya villages.
“The Burmese army’s destruction of Rohingya villages within days of signing a refugee repatriation agreement with Bangladesh shows that commitments to safe returns were just a public relations stunt,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
On Nov. 23, Bangladesh and Myanmar struck a deal on the repatriation on hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees, who took shelter in Cox’s Bazaar, after the military escalated an attack that the UN describes as “ethnic cleansing.”
“The satellite imagery shows what the Burmese army denies: that Rohingya villages continue to be destroyed. Burmese government pledges to ensure the safety of returning Rohingya cannot be taken seriously,” Adams concluded.
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 security personnel. In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted as crimes against humanity.
