AA Uses Muslim Villages as Shield to Attack Military

Buthidaung — The Rakhine rebels use Shaker (Muslim) hamlet of Tha Yet Pyin VT, Buthidaung as shield to attack military and the military in return attack the village and threatened to turn it upside down, reported the villagers.

A villager told RVision, “On Dec. 28 there was a clash where the rebels positioned at the village and attacked the military. In return, military also fired toward the village.” adding “Luckily there was no casualties.”

“Trapped in fear, many villagers fled away and some others have moved their moveable belongings to neighbouring villages. Normally they stay at the village at daytime but at night they leave it.”

Because, according to the villager, the military summoned the village administration and community elders and said “The foxes (the Rakhine rebels) repeatedly attacked us from your village. If you don’t inform us of their arrival, location and movement around, we will turn your village upside down.”

The villager also told “Yesterday (Dec. 30), the rebels climbed down the mountain to the village and just fired some shots and disappeared, then the military warned the villagers that because of us they can’t retaliate for Rakhines’ attack. If we don’t cooperate with them, they will ruin our village.”

On the other hand, the Rakhine rebels warned the villagers not to cooperate with military. Previously they kidnapped some young Rohingyas from a neighbouring village who were close to the authorities and accused of being informants against the rebels.

The rebels also took position at the mountain behind Chaung Ye (Taung Ywar) village and the military entered the village, destroyed some homes to make underground forts for confrontation and defense. In addition, they are consuming Rohingya’s cattle and other livestock forcefully.

On Dec. 31, a cow belonging to Zahir Ahmed alias Halaya hailing from Shaker village was critically injured by landmine explosion outside the village. Last year, one of his eight years-old son was brutally killed by Rakhine extremists in a betel farm located at the same place where the landmine injured his cow.