GENEVA, Feb 3 — Myanmar’s military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims has likely killed hundreds of people, with children slaughtered and women raped in a campaign that may amount to ethnic cleansing, the UN said Friday.

A report from the United Nations Human Rights office, based on interviews with 204 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, also found it was “very likely” that crimes against humanity had been committed in Myanmar, echoing previous UN accusations.

The so-called “area clearance operations” launched by the military in northwest Rakhine state on October 10 “have likely resulted in several hundred deaths”, the report said.

Rohingya refugees recounted gruesome violations allegedly perpetrated by members of Myanmar’s security services or civilian fighters working in collaboration with the military and police.

“An eight-month-old baby was reportedly killed while his mother was gang-raped by five security officers,” the rights office said in a press release, citing witnesses.

Three children aged six or younger were “slaughtered with knives”, according to the report.

“What kind of hatred could make a man stab a baby crying out for his mother’s milk,” UN rights chief Zeid bin Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein said in the statement.

“What kind of ‘clearance operation’ is this? What national security goals could possibly be served by this?,” he added.

A full 47 per cent of those interviewed by the UN said they had a family member who had been killed in the operation, while 43 per cent reported being raped.

Ethnic cleansing?

Rights office spokesman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva that “the kind of systematic and widespread violations that we have documented could be described as ethnic cleansing”, but noted that was not a legally defined offence provable in court.

The report said the violence was the result of “purposeful policy” designed by one group to remove another group from an area “through violent and terror-inspiring means”.

The Rohingya Muslims are loathed by many among Myanmar’s Buddhist majority.

Myanmar refuses to recognise the Rohingya as one of the country’s ethnic minorities, instead describing them as Bengalis—or illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh—even though many have lived in Myanmar for generations.

Witnesses told the UN they had been taunted while they were beaten and mocked over the failure of “Allah” to help.

The military crackdown in Rakhine, home to more than one million Rohingya, was triggered by October 9 attacks on border guard posts, which Myanmar and the International Crisis Group say were carried out by foreign-backed militants.

Nearly 70,000 Rohingya have fled the ensuing crisis to Bangladesh.

The Myanmar government’s own probe into the unrest denied that the security forces had carried out a genocidal campaign against the Rohingya.

The government, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has said the allegations are invented and has resisted mounting international pressure to protect the minority.

But the UN’s Zeid, who has previously urged Myanmar to act, hit back again on Friday demanding that impunity for such serious crimes had to stop.

“The Government of Myanmar must immediately halt these grave human rights violations against its own people, instead of continuing to deny they have occurred,” he said.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay had no immediate comment as he had not seen the UN report.

Shamdasani however told reporters that the rights office had shared their findings with the government and was “engaged with them in Geneva as well as in Myanmar.” — AFP

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 — Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry expressed regret today over the Bangladeshi government’s decision not to allow a food flotilla to provide aid for Rohingya refugees.

The Foreign Ministry said its minister, Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, met with the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Malaysia, Md Shahidul Islam, at the Foreign Affairs Ministry today to seek clarification on Bangladesh’s decision on the “Humanitarian Mission — Food Flotilla for Myanmar” that was originally planned to dock at Yangon, Myanmar, before heading to Teknaf, Bangladesh, the port closest to 65,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

“YB Foreign Minister reiterated that Malaysia’s main concern is the plight of the Rohingyas in Myanmar as well as the Rohingya refugees,” said the Foreign Ministry in a statement.

“The High Commissioner acknowledged YB Foreign Minister’s concern and would revert after getting further clarifications from the Bangladesh government.

“The Food Flotilla aims to provide some 2,200 tonnes of goods for the Rohingyas. This initiative is consistent with the resolution adopted by the Extraordinary Session of the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) Council of Foreign Ministers which called upon OIC member states to urgently render humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering and hardship of the Rohingyas,” it added.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak launched earlier today the food flotilla organised by Umno, PAS, and some non-governmental organisations, that carried 2,200 tonnes of food and medicine meant for affected communities in Sittwe, Myanmar’s western Rakhine state.

The mission, organised by 1Malaysia Putera Club (KP1M), the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations (MAPIM) and Turkiye Diyanet Vakfi (TDV), is expected to arrive at Yangon, Myanmar, on February 9.