UN investigators have for the first time declared the violence against Rohingya Muslims in northern Myanmar to be a campaign of genocide.
In a damning final report from their fact-finding mission, observers said Myanmar’s commander-in-chief and five other named generals should face prosecution for acting with “genocidal intent”, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
It is by far the strongest condemnation yet from the international community for a widespread military crackdown by the authorities in Rakhine state, which began on 25 August last year. The army said it had been responding to violent attacks by a Rohingya Muslim militant group
But hundreds of Rohingya in exile spoke to the UN’s fact-finding team, working under the mandate of the Human Rights Council, to describe the burning of entire villages, gang rape of women and mass extrajudicial killings of civilians.
The violence sparked the exodus of more than 700,000 Rohingya to neighbouring Bangladesh, where they have been given shelter and support by the government and NGOs but still lack basic rights and citizenship.
Marzuki Darusman, chairman of the investigative team, said Myanmar’s military commander Min Aung Hlaing should step down in the wake of the report.
