Villagers, security forces involved in killings of 10 armed Muslims

January 10, 2018

Some villagers and security forces were involved in the killing of 10 armed attackers whose bodies were found in a mass grave last month in a cemetery in Inndin Village in Maungtaw Township, Rakhine State, the True News Information Team of the Ministry of Defence acknowledged yesterday.

“Action will be taken against some security forces who broke the Rules of Engagement and some villagers who were involved in the killings,” said the announcement from the ministry posted on its Facebook page yesterday.

An investigation team led by Lt-Gen Aye Win of the Ministry of Defence probed the killing from 20th December to 2nd January, interrogating 21 security force members, three border guard police, 13 members of the No. 8 security regiment, six villagers and six departmental officials.

Since the 9th October terrorist attacks, Muslim villagers, whose population is about 6,000 in the village-tract, had been threatening ethnic minorities, of which there are about 840 in three villages.

The Muslim armed men allegedly killed Maung Ni, a villager from Inndin Village, who had been on his way to a rice field on 25th August, 2017, and threatened nearby ethnic villagers with attacks every day, said the statement.

The ethnic villagers moved to a monastery and security forces arrived to provide security.

The announcement said on 1st September, about 200 armed attackers tried to attack security forces. In response, the security forces fired warning shots into the air to disperse the attackers and arrested 10 armed men.

During a subsequent interrogation, the 10 men confessed that they had ties to the terrorists and that they were organised by Muslim religious leaders also known as Mawlawi at mosques in Muslim villages.

The detainees should be handed over to police. However, two vehicles from Inndin Village Police Station were set on fire by terrorists and terrorists attacks were happening at that time in the local areas, the statement said.

“Some villagers from Inndin village and security members confessed they killed 10 Muslim terrorists and action would be taken against the villagers and security members who violated the Rules of Engagement. Besides, action would be taken against those officers who failed to report the incident to the upper commands though they did not involve in it but those who involved in the incident are under their command,” said the statement.

Myanmar News Agency

Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar