YANGON – The government’s Information Committee released a statement on Wednesday that said 163 people from Maungdaw District, Rakhine State, were killed and 91 people went missing from October 2016 to September 2017, following attacks by Muslim militants on border police posts.
In addition, the statement read that from August 25 to September 26, 84 people had been killed, including Muslims, Hindu, ethnic Arakanese, Daignet, Mro, and security forces, and that 44 people went missing.
On Sunday, security forces and Hindu villagers discovered 28 dead bodies and unearthed 17 others the following day near Yebaw Kya village of Kha Maung Seik village tract in northern Maungdaw Township, who the government claims were some of those killed by ARSA in August. The authorities continue to search for additional bodies.
Union Minister for Social Welfare Dr. Win Myat Aye, Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu, members of the National Human Rights Commission and senior military officers went to the mass grave sites on Monday and met with the relatives of the victims. The grieving members of Hindu families confirmed 25 of the dead bodies so far.
Maungdaw Township Public Health Department officials have begun conducting forensic inspections of the excavated bodies.
From previous attacks on Oct. 9 ,2016 through Aug. 24,2017 a day before the recent unrest began, the government stated that at least 79 people had been killed including civil servants, security forces, and Muslim villagers who had collaborated with local authorities, and that 39 people were still missing from that time.
