UN rights agency condemns combat in Myanmar's Rakhine state

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said "We are deeply disturbed by the intensification of the conflict in Rakhine State in recent weeks, and condemn what appear to be indiscriminate attacks and attacks directed at civilians by the Myanmar military and armed fighters in the context of the ongoing fighting with the ethnic Rakhine Arakan Army (AA), UN OHCHR Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said.

"The conflict between the Myanmar military, known as the Tatmadaw, and the Arakan Army has given rise to credible reports of the killing of civilians, burning of houses, arbitrary arrests, abductions, indiscriminate fire in civilian areas, and damage to cultural property," the spokesperson said.

The fighting has impacted on civilians of various ethnicities in Rakhine and Chin States, including Rakhine, Rohingya, Chin, Mro and Daignet, he added.

According to reports received by the UN Human Rights Office, fighting has intensified in Buthidaung, Rathedaung, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, and Sittwe townships in Rakhine State in recent weeks, leading to the displacement of over 20,000 civilians.

The impact of the violence on civilians in northern Rakhine has been exacerbated by the Government’s near-suspension of humanitarian access since January 2019.

We call on the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army to immediately cease hostilities and to ensure that civilians are protected. Humanitarian access to all areas of northern Rakhine must urgently be restored, including those areas affected by recent clashes.

As the international community is taking steps towards accountability for the crimes committed against civilians in previous years, the Myanmar military is again carrying out attacks against its own civilians - attacks which may constitute war crimes. The consequences of impunity will continue to be deadly.