Myanmar Army Probing Atrocities against Rohingya

A police officer at a displacement camp for Rohingya in Rakhine State, Myanmar. AFP file photo
A police officer at a displacement camp for Rohingya in Rakhine State, Myanmar. AFP file photo
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Myanmar Army Probing Atrocities against Rohingya

A police officer at a displacement camp for Rohingya in Rakhine State, Myanmar. AFP file photo
A police officer at a displacement camp for Rohingya in Rakhine State, Myanmar. AFP file photo

Myanmar's military has said it is investigating its operations in Rakhine state, where the United Nations has accused troops of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against minority Rohingya Muslims, who have fled in droves to Bangladesh.

According to statements released Friday, the military is now preparing to publish results of its internal investigation.

"An investigation team led by Defense Services Inspector General Lt-Gen Aye Win is inspecting security forces and military units (to see) whether they perform the assigned duties or not," said a statement from the army's "True News Information Team.”

But a separate post published on the army chief's Facebook page suggested troops would be cleared of abuses, saying: "it was found that all actions conformed to the law."

"Measures are being taken to make a comprehensive report," added the statement on General Min Aung Hlaing's Facebook page.

In the last seven weeks, more than half a million Rohingya have fled Rakhine for Bangladesh, shocking the globe with accounts of Myanmar soldiers and Buddhist mobs murdering and raping civilians before torching their villages to the ground.

The army has steadfastly denied the charges and insists it is targeting Rohingya militants who attacked police posts on August 25.

It has also blocked independent access to the conflict zone, triggering condemnation from the UN, which has accused the army of leading a systematic campaign to expel the Muslim minority.

The country's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who came to power in free elections in 2015, lacks control over the military.

But her reputation has been battered by the crisis, with rights groups voicing outrage over her perceived lack of sympathy towards the Rohingya and unwillingness to condemn alleged atrocities by the army. 



Biden Says Israel Recovers Bodies of 6 Hostages in Gaza, Including Goldberg-Polin

(FILES) An image grab from a video released by the media office of the Palestinian group Hamas on April 24, 2024, shows an Israeli-American man who identified himself as Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, one of the hostages abducted from the Nova music festival in southern Israel during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, speaking to a camera. (Photo by Hamas Media Office / various sources / AFP)
(FILES) An image grab from a video released by the media office of the Palestinian group Hamas on April 24, 2024, shows an Israeli-American man who identified himself as Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, one of the hostages abducted from the Nova music festival in southern Israel during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, speaking to a camera. (Photo by Hamas Media Office / various sources / AFP)
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Biden Says Israel Recovers Bodies of 6 Hostages in Gaza, Including Goldberg-Polin

(FILES) An image grab from a video released by the media office of the Palestinian group Hamas on April 24, 2024, shows an Israeli-American man who identified himself as Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, one of the hostages abducted from the Nova music festival in southern Israel during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, speaking to a camera. (Photo by Hamas Media Office / various sources / AFP)
(FILES) An image grab from a video released by the media office of the Palestinian group Hamas on April 24, 2024, shows an Israeli-American man who identified himself as Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, one of the hostages abducted from the Nova music festival in southern Israel during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, speaking to a camera. (Photo by Hamas Media Office / various sources / AFP)

Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages in Gaza, including that of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, US President Joe Biden said late on Saturday.
"Earlier today, in a tunnel under the city of Rafah, Israeli forces recovered six bodies of hostages held by Hamas," Biden said in a statement issued by the White House. "I am devastated and outraged."
The Israeli military said in a statement on Sunday that the bodies of Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino had been brought to Israel.
Hamas and its armed wing did not immediately comment on the accusations, Reuters said.
At least 40,691 Palestinians have been killed and 94,060 injured in Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, the enclave's health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The war was triggered when Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
On Saturday, clashes broke out between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters in the occupied West Bank as Israel pushed ahead with a military operation in the flashpoint city of Jenin. Hundreds of Israeli troops have been carrying out raids since Wednesday in one of their largest actions in the West Bank in months.
Goldberg-Polin, captured at a music festival near Gaza, appeared in a video released by Hamas in late April.
"He had just turned 23. He planned to travel the world," Biden said. His parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, "have been courageous, wise, and steadfast, even as they have endured the unimaginable," Biden said.
Biden vowed that "Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages."