by Zachary Lucas
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar — At least 24 people were killed in last Monday following an attack by unknown assailants on police outposts near the Burmese-Bangladeshi border. Burmese officials claimed the attacks were by an Islamist group in Rohingya region.

Three police outposts were attacked by unknown assailants near the border in Rakhine State. Myanmar’s police chief, Major General Zaw Win, said that nine police officers were killed in the attacks. Along with the police officers, at least eight militants were also killed. Police officials said the militants were able to take 62 weapons and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition. General Zaw Win said the attackers used “used swords, spears and homemade weapons.”

Counter-operations began after the attacks in a township next to the border in Rakhine State called Maungdaw. Joint army and police forces killed seven villagers of the Rohingya Muslim minority. A local man, U Zaw Oo, witnessed the event and said that around six in the morning government forces came and gunned down seven men. U Zaw Oo also stated that the town is very quiet following the event at the local Muslim population is terrified of the security forces. Another Rohingya Muslim in the area stated that the people that were shot were fleeing.

Since these events, violence has been increasing in Rakhine State. On October 15, a man was shot while collecting bamboo near Myo Village. His brother stated that he was a teacher in Maungdaw. On the same day, military officials reported that three police officers were attacked by knife-wielding assailants. The police shot and killed the assailants.

The United Nations special adviser to Burma, Vijay Nambiar, urged both troops and residents to have restraint. He called on civilians to “not be provoked into any kind of response by targeting other communities or religious groups.”  A senior researcher at Human Rights Watch also stated, “The search for perpetrators cannot descend into abuses of a local population already suffering under sharp restrictions on freedom of movement, work and access to services.”

The Rohingya Muslim minority in the area have been denied citizenship in Myanmar and are, thus, stateless people. Buddhists nationalists in the country deem the Rohingya to be illegal immigrants in the state. In 2012, sectarian violence in Rakhine led to the death of more than 100 people and moving 10,000 people into displacement camps.

For more information, please see:

Daily Star — Myanmar blames Islamist group for attacks in Rohingya Muslim region — 15 October 2016

Myanmar Times — Death toll rises, more arrests made in troubled northern Rakhine State — 17 October 2016

New York Times — Dozens Believed Killed as Violence Erupts in Myanmar — 10 October 2016

Telegraph — Many dead as hundreds of men wielding pistols and swords assail troops in Burma’s restive Rakhine — 12 October 2016

by Zachary Lucas
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea — United States’ bombers flew over South Korea as a show of force to recent military actions by North Korea. This was the second time in weeks that the US and South Korea have shown military force around the tense peninsula.

Two US B-1B Lancer strategic bombers flew over South Korea as a show of force and solidarity to protect their ally on the peninsula. South Korea officials stated the supersonic bombers flew from Guam and landed at the Osan Air Base, 75 miles from the North Korean bomber. The purpose of the mission, according to South Korean officials, was to preserve peace and security on the peninsula.

This is the second time in two weeks that US bombers have flown over the peninsula. On 13 September, two bombers flew over South Korea while escorted by South Korean fighter jets. The increase in military presence by the US is in response to continued military buildup by North Korea. On 9 September, North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test and later stated they had successfully tested a new rocket engine capable of launching satellites. North Korea did not respond to the latest show of force but previously called the 13 September show of force as “ill-famed nuclear killing tools.”

US and South Korea also announced plans to run a simulated attack on a nuclear facility. This simulation will take place starting 3 October. South Korean officials said this was not related to recent nuclear tests by North Korea. US and South Korea will also run simulations on sudden missile attacks.

China and Russia condemned the show of force and asked all sides to deescalate rising tensions on the peninsula. China objected to the US recent decision to move THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Aerial Defense) anti-missile system in South Korea. Chinese officials called on all “parties to exercise restraint and to avoid any actions that could further escalate tensions.” China did not state if they would support increased United Nations’ sanctions against North Korea to prevent nuclear testing. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that using the threat of a North Korean attack to militarize was dangerous.

Following the end of World War II, the Korean peninsula split into the communist north and the democratic south. After North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, the UN intervened to support the South Korean government. The end of the war in 1953 marked a division of the country with a demilitarized zone running across the country. Both sides remain armed along the zone, but no serious altercations have occurred since the end of the war.

For more information, please see:

ABC News — North Korea: US supersonic bombers fly over South Korea after Pyongyang nuclear tests — 21 September 2016

CNN — South Korea, US to simulate attack on nuclear facility — 21 September 2016

Fox News — US flies bombers over South Korea again in show of force — 21 September 2016

Reuters — Russia’s Lavrov says wrong to use North Korea to militarize NE Asia — 23 September 2016

Reuters — U.S. bombers fly over South Korea for second time since North’s nuclear test — 21 September 2016

by Zachary Lucas
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar — A group of seven soldiers were sentenced to hard labor after a court found them guilty of killing civilians in a village. Four of the seven soldiers were officers.

A military court handed down the sentences to the seven soldiers following the family’s pursuit of justice for their loved ones. Sai Kaung Kham, an activist, helped the families pursue their claim after discovering nothing had been done.

The men were charged and convicted of killing villagers following a skirmish with an ethnic rebel group in eastern Shan state in Mong Yaw. The army entered the village and rounded up members of the Shan and Palaung ethnic groups. The villagers were suspected of aiding the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, a Palaungi militia that has been fighting the government for years. Days later five badly beaten bodies with knife wounds were found in a shallow grave and identified as the villagers.

Following the killings, the army released a statement saying the soldiers were responsible for the killings. The military court sentenced them to five years imprisonment under hard labor. Kham stated that “the fact they were sentenced is better than nothing.”

The army of Myanmar rarely admits to abuses or wrongdoings done by its soldiers. It is even more rare when they prosecute their own soldiers for those abuses. There were also two other incidents were soldiers were prosecuted for human rights violations earlier in the year that suggests a possible change in policy concerning human rights issues. While they exposed and prosecuted those incidents, they refused to investigate or prosecute the death of two other civilians that were killed fleeing the same village on a motorcycle.

The army ruled Burma, the name of the country before 2011, as a military junta for decades. The army fought violent conflicts with armed ethnic groups around the country. During this time, all sides are accused of numerous human rights violations that includes extrajudicial killings, rape, and torture. In 2011, democratic reforms occurred in the country allowing for a quasi-civilian leadership of the country under activist Aung San Suu Kyi. President Obama vowed to life decades old sanctions instated during the military junta’s leadership.

For more information, please see:

Bangkok Post — Myanmar soldiers jailed for killing villagers — 16 September 2016

BBC — Myanmar soldiers jailed for village murders in rare case — 16 September 2016

Gulf Times — Seven Myanmar soldiers jailed for killing villagers — 16 September 2016

Reuters — Myanmar soldiers jailed with hard labor for village killings — 16 September 2016