Around 6,700 Rohingya, Including 730 Children were Killed During Attacks in Myanmar, Says MSF

More than 6,700 Rohingya, including 730 children were killed after violence broke out in Myanmar's Rakhine state late August, according to international medical NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). The organisation, which is also known as Doctors Without Borders said that this is "the clearest indication yet of the widespread violence" by the Myanmar authorities.

Based on the surveys conducted in the refugee settlement camps in Bangladesh, the MSF estimated that at least 9,000 Rohingya died in Myanmar, in Rakhine state, between August 25 and September 24 this year. The report states that out of the estimate, ’71.7% of the reported deaths were caused by violence’. The violence related causality include 730 children below the age of five years.

The casualty report is much higher than Myanmar's official figure of 400. On 25 August 2017, a ‘clearance operation’ launched by Myanmar’s Army in repose to an attack by a Rohingya militant group led to the massive violence in the Rakhine State. The military operation, which many including UN calls as an ‘ethnic cleansing’ led to a mass displacement of Rohingya civilians into Bangladesh.

"What we uncovered was staggering, both in terms of the numbers of people who reported a family member died as a result of violence, and the horrific ways in which they said they were killed or severely injured," said MSF Medical Director Sidney Wong.

Among the dead children below the age of five, MSF said more than 59 percent were reportedly shot, 15 percent burnt to death, 7 percent beaten to death and 2 percent were killed by landmine blasts.

More than 6,47,000 Rohingya have fled into Bangladesh after the military crackdown began on August 25 following Rohingya Arsa militants attack on more than 30 police posts, the BBC reported.

After an internal investigation, the Myanmar Army in November exonerated itself of any blame regarding the crisis. It denied killing any civilians, burning their villages, raping women and girls, and stealing possessions.

The Muslim-majority community is denied citizenship by Myanmar, where they are seen as immigrants from Bangladesh. The government does not use the term Rohingya but calls them Bengali Muslims.

"The number of deaths is likely to be an underestimation as we have not surveyed all refugee settlements in Bangladesh and because the surveys don't account for the families who never made it out of Myanmar," Wong added.

The MSF noted that considering the unsafe environment for Rohingya refugees in Rakhine region, the agreement for their return signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar is premature.

(with inputs from IANS)