Myanmar military leaders must face genocide charges, says UN

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A UN report has said top military figures in Myanmar must be investigated for genocide in Rakhine state and crimes against humanity in other areas.

The report, based on hundreds of interviews, is the strongest condemnation from the UN so far of violence against the Rohingya.

The army's tactics are "consistently and grossly disproportionate to actual security threats", it says.

It names six senior military figures it believes should go on trial.

It is also fiercely critical of Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, for failing to intervene to stop the violence.



The report calls for the case to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The government has consistently said its operations targeted militant or insurgent threats.

But the report says the crimes it has documented are "shocking for the level of denial, normalcy and impunity that is attached to them".

"Military necessity would never justify killing indiscriminately, gang raping women, assaulting children, and burning entire villages."

What crimes does the UN allege?

The UN's Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar was set up in March 2017 to investigate widespread allegations of human rights abuses in Myanmar, particularly in Rakhine state.

The crimes documented in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine include murder, imprisonment, torture, rape, sexual slavery, persecution and enslavement that "undoubtedly amount to the gravest crimes under international law".

Who does the UN blame?

The UN mission names army officials who it says bear the greatest responsibility. They include Commander-in-Chief Ming Aung Hlaing and his deputy.

The military is described as being virtually above the law.

What has been happening?

The Rohingya are one of many ethnic minorities in Myanmar and make up the largest percentage of the country's Muslims. The government, however, sees them as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and denies them citizenship.

The military launched its latest crackdown after militants from Arsa attacked police posts in August 2017, killing several policemen.

The UN has previously described the military offensive in Rakhine as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing" and refugees who have fled the violence have told horrific stories of sexual violence and torture.

According to the medical charity MSF, at least 6,700 Rohingya, including at least 730 children under the age of five, were killed in the first month after the violence broke out.
 

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