Six villagers killed, two missing in Maungtaw

August 3, 20107

The bodies of six people near Kaigyi Village and the Mayu Mountain Range were discovered by Myanmar security forces on patrol in Maungtaw, Rakhine State. The villagers, all members of the Mro-Arakan ethnic group, had been killed with machetes and gunshots by violent attackers, according to State Counsellor’s Office Information Team. Two additional villagers are missing.

The victims were identified as Kon Wai, 25, Lin Kyat, 29, U Kaing Hmwe, 25, Daw Seik Yar, 38, Daw Yi, 27, and Daw Hti Kaw, 25,  from Kaigyi Village.

In October nine officers were killed at a border station in Maungtaw. The area has, since then, been the scene of a series of conflicts. After reports circulated that a group called Harakah al-Yaqin was responsible for the attack, the security forces staged area clerance operations.

The security operation has been beset by allegations of rape, torture and extrajudicial killings. The Union government has denied most of those allegations and refused access to a United Nations panel of experts, saying its mission would aggravate the situation in Rakhine.

Ref; The Global new light of Myanmar