2017 Rohingya persecution in Myanmar

2017 Rohingya persecution in Myanmar

Burnt down houses in northern Rakhine State, September 2017
Date	25 August 2017 (2017-08-25) – October 2017
Location	Northern Rakhine State, Myanmar
Outcome	Ongoing sporadic attacks on Myanmar's security forces by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army Forced relocation of Rohingyas 650,000 refugees fled abroad (since 25 August 2017)
Deaths	10,000+
Publication bans	Media access in northern Rakhine State heavily restricted by the Myanmar government.

The 2017 Rohingya persecution in Myanmar occurred in August–October period of the year when the Myanmar military forces and local Buddhist extremists began atrocities against the Rohingya people in the country's north-west Rakhine state. The 2017 persecution has frequently been termed as "ethnic cleansing" against the Rohingya Muslims.Médecins Sans Frontières estimated that more than 6700 Rohingya including 730 children were killed in August 2017 alone. On December 5, 2017 the United Nations' human rights chief, Zeid bin Ra'ad, announced that the Rohingya persecution may constitute genocide under international human rights laws. In late September that year, a seven-member panel of the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal found the Myanmar military and the Myanmar authority guilty of the crime of genocide against the Rohingya and the Kachin minority groups.Rex Tillerson, United States Secretary of State, declared that the action of the Myanmar authorities constitute ethnic cleansing. Subsequently, in November 2017, the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a deal to facilitate the return of Rohingya refugees to their native Rakhine state within two months, drawing a mixed response from international onlookers.

The government announced on 25 August 2017 that 71 people (one soldier, one immigration officer, 10 policemen and 59 insurgents) had been killed overnight during coordinated attacks by up to 150 insurgents on 24 police posts and the 552nd Light Infantry Battalion army base in Rakhine State. The Myanmar Army stated that the attack began at around 1:00 AM, when insurgents armed with bombs, small arms weapons and machetes blew up a bridge. The army further stated that a majority of the attacks occurred around 3:00 AM to 4:00 AM. The ARSA claimed they were taking "defensive actions" in 25 different locations and accused government soldiers of raping and killing civilians. The group also claimed that Rathedaung had been under a blockade for more than two weeks, starving the Rohingya, and that the government forces were preparing to do the same in Maungdaw. According to Yanghee Lee, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Myanmar, at least 1,000 people had been killed in the violence since 25 August. She added that the figure is "very likely an underestimate".