June 7, 2017
An elderly Rohingya shepherd has been brutally attacked by a Buddhist nationalist gang and soldiers in Mamra on Sunday, according to local sources.
Syed Amin, aged around 50 years was at a grazing field near the village of Hadara Para when a gang of 12 men accompanied by three Tatmadaw personal showed up in the area and started assaulting him, according to his testimony.
Locals allege the 12 attackers belong to the local Ma Ba Tha outfit.
Amin is currently in a critical condition and one of his hands have been totally broken in the brutal attack.
Village administration has refused to take action against the perpetuators though those responsible are very well known in the locality.
Rohingya Muslims frequently face attacks by gangs backed by security forces when they venture outside their settlement. Activists have long alleged this is a systematic policy to prevent the Muslim populace from earning a livelihood, by cutting them off from the waterways, forests the grazing grounds and the markets. This leads to artificial starvation and forces the Rohingya communities to move out.
The situation is especially dire in the southern townships where Rohingyas have steadily become a minority community following decades of oppression.
