Video Shows Rohingya Fleeing Violence in Myanmar

This August 29, 2017 photo shows newly arrived Rohingya refugees standing behind a wooden fence.

Ankara, MINA – Video footage released on social media on Wednesday has revealed eyewitness testimony of atrocities being endured by Rohingya Muslim civilians in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

Also Read: South Korean President Arrested After Authorities Raid His Home

In a video interview posted on the Arakan Times website, a Rohingya man describes what happened during operations carried out by the Myanmar military.

“They [military] shot dead my brother, my wife, my three kids, my nephew, my mother, and my sister… I had gone to pick up my belongings. God saved me, otherwise I would be dead,” the man, whose name was withheld, says in the recording.

“I saw that they [the military] burned my family after killing them,” he adds.

In footage obtained by Anadolu Agency, Rohingya civilians can be seen fleeing across a wide river, carrying whatever possessions they could salvage on their backs.

Also Read: Kashmir Hit by Heavy Snowfall, Temperatures Reach Minus 8

The footage shows several harrowing scenes, including the remains of a small child who died in the scramble to escape attack.

Another group of traumatized Rohingya civilians, including many children, can be seen praying en masse, many clearly emotional from their ordeal.

Deadly attacks on border posts in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state broke out on Friday. Later, media reports emerged saying Myanmar security forces used disproportionate force and displaced thousands of Rohingya villagers, destroying homes with mortars and machine guns.

The region has seen simmering tension between its Buddhist and Muslim populations since communal violence broke out in 2012. (T/RS5/RS1)

Also Read: At Least 85 Passengers Killed in Jeju Air Plane Crash in South Korea

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)