Pauktaw, Arakan State: Three people were killed and two others wounded when conflict broke out between Rakhine and Rohingya communities last week, according to a Pauktaw resident who wished to remain anonymous.
On November 2, at about 12:00 noon, one Rohingya refugee –whose name is unknown - was killed by local Rakhine in the forest while he and another were collecting firewood. The second man managed to escape.
Another refugee was seriously wounded when he arrived at Sintatmaw refugee camp and related the details of the incident, according to one of the camp’s residents.
Hearing the information from the wounded refugee, a group went to the forest to search for the dead body, but they were stopped by Hluntin, who reportedly opened fired on the mob. One refugee was killed on the spot and three others were wounded, said an elder from the camp.
According to Arakan State Government spokesperson Hla Thein, six Rohingya refugees from the Sintatmaw displacement camp disappeared on November 2 when they went to the forest to collect firewood. At least one was found dead with physical wounds, and was taken back to the local mosque. Others are still missing.
A confrontation at the camp allegedly ended with police officials shooting into the crowd. Three Rohingya were injured in the incident, and one of them later died in the hospital, HlaThein said.
Following the confrontation, a quarrel broke out between a mob of refugees and two Rakhine women collecting mussels by a stream. In that incident, one Rakhine woman was killed and another was wounded, according to sources from Sintatmaw.
“The body of a Bengali Muslim covered with wounds was found in Sintatmaw village, and I think the Bengalis suspect the Arakanese for this,” said Hla Thein, referring to the Rohingya man as a “Bengali,” a term that reflects many locals’ belief that the Muslim minority are illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh.
According our reporter, the three wounded refugees were immediately brought to Sittwe (Akyab) General Hospital by Medines Sans Frontiers (MSF) members for treatment, after the camp leader called the MSF office.
The Rakhine community in the area has recently complained that the MSF work only for Rohingya, not for Rakhine. However Vickie Hawkins, MSF deputy-head for Burma, has recently stated that her organization was fair in their work, and provided medical services regardless of ethnicity and based only on a patient’s need.
The Arakan State government, under direction of the Burmese government, convened 18 leading international NGOs and UN agencies on November 4 to remind them that all assistance must be distributed fairly, after the Rakhine community protested against allegedly discriminatory aid work.
