October 27, 2016
Tatmadaw raided a number of village tracts in Rathedaung on Wednesday, and made a number of ‘sexual’ assaults’ on the local Maulavis.
In the early hours following dawn, the military fell on Firing Dong and asked the collaborators to round up every men and women in the village and told them to assemble at a point. Here they asked the collaborators (tabbe) to identify all the Maulavis. They then started to strip the religious teachers, starting with the most senior teachers. Altogether, around 17 teachers faced molestation by the army.
The army also asked villagers to knock down all boundaries and pay them 450,000 kyats. The money was already arranged by infamous local tabbe Baish Kutu.
Following the raid, the soldiers went back to the direction of Sangama at around 9.30 am.
Another army team raided the village tract of Soha parang at around 11am. Here they repeated the same practise and proceeded to sexually assault two elderly men and a teenager.
Another army team then turned up in Ore para and sexually assaulted three middle aged men, including the principal of the local madrasa. A community leader named Zubair was brutally hit on the head, resulting in serious injuries. The military also fined the villagers 450,000 kyats which the local collaborators had already collected. The military also told all boundaries should be knocked down, and the big trees must be cut down as guerrillas can use them as a cover.
Rathedaung has not seen the military activity currently prevalent in Maungdaw but our correspondents say the army is demoralising villagers by sexually assaulting and humiliating the respected members of the community. The new tactic employed by the Tatmadaw comes amidst a worsening food crisis and many Muslims, including children pass days without food.
Recent Comments