December 4, 2016
At least 25 Rohingyas were arrested from Kya Ri Prang, Maungdaw North for speaking to Kofi Annan on Saturday.
Local sources say the Rohingyas had earlier learned Annan was supposed to visit the destroyed village tract. So they had arrived from outside to speak with him and describe the situation. However from the early hours, many Tatmadaw officials, some of them in plain clothes had taken up positions in the area to prevent the Muslim community from approaching the former UN chief who has vowed to bring peace to the restive region.
Some of the Rohingyas managed to sneak up to Annan, and hurriedly explained their situation. But as soon as Annan and his entourage left the area, the Tatmadaw sweeped down on the Rohingyas who were already trying to run away. Many escaped but at least 25 Rohingyas were arrested. They included women and elderly people.
Troops also raided the southern neighbourhood of Maung Hna Ma and made arrests as some of the locals had sneaked to Kya Ri Prang to speak to Annan. Kya Ri Prang was burned down in mid October and many, including women and infant children from the same family were brutally killed. Since then most people had left Kya Ri Prang but many continued to come back in recent days as Tatmadaw cracked down on escaping villagers. Since Friday, the Tatmadaw once again continued to clear them out in preparation for Annan’s visit.
Meanwhile the Tatmadaw continued its presence around Sa Li Frang where they once again proceeded to sexually molest and rape Rohingya women in open spaces for the third day in a row. On Thursday and Friday, Tatmadaw entered the village tract, herded all the women into an open field, forced them to strip and proceeded to sexually molest and mercilessly assault them. On Saturday, they raided the houses left untouched in the past two days. At least two women were raped in the open field., but the actual figures are likely to be higher.
More than a hundred women in the area were sexually molested in the open fields over the past two days. The Tatmadaw had the village tract surrounded from all sides.
Natala and Rakhine men also took part in the raids. They looted all possessions from the Rohingya households and anything they could not carry was smashed and destroyed. They poured water on the rice and destroyed all food stocks. There is currently no food left in the village at this moment.
In Zammoinna, the Tatmadaw raided the Hachu Khali Paschim Para neighbourhood on Friday at around midnight. They ordered all the women out of their houses, took them to a nearby field and forced them to take off all their clothes. Some of the women were raped in full view of each other. The rapes were witnessed by other villagers, with one man hiding in the paddy fields watching helplessly as soldiers took turns raping his wife.
The Tatmadaw also raided Faul Khali on Friday and arrested at least two people.
It is feared the arrested Rohingyas will be brutally tortured in custody. An eyewitness report has claimed many Rohingyas arrested in the past few weeks are having their eyes gouged out. Many have been killed in custody.
