HONG KONG — More than 70 people, including security troops were killed after Rohingya insurgents, a rebel group, on Friday carried out attacks at police stations and border check posts in Rakhine State in western Myanmar, claims the government.
As per reports, around 150 insurgents stormed over 20 posts early morning with hand-made bombs, the authorities said, adding 12 security personnel are among the dead.
According to AlJazeera news, at least 77 Rohingya Muslims were killed in the clashes.
Tension is prevailing in Rakhine, which is home to more than a million Rohingay Muslims, owing to clashes between Muslim and Buddhist communities for years. Tens of thousands of Muslims have fled to Bangladesh due to ethnic persecution.
It is notable that the attacks followed by a report in which it has been warned that people would turn more radicalised if ethnic rift was settled.
A government statement said that "extremist Bengali insurgents attacked a police station in Maungdaw region in northern Rakhine state with a handmade bomb explosive and held co-ordinated attacks on several police posts at 01:00".
The government statement uses the term "Bengali" to describe the stateless Rohingya, because it maintains they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
On Wednesday, a commission headed by former UN chief Kofi Annan urged the Myanmar government to give citizenship to Rohingya Muslims, a persecuted Muslim minority.
