The Burma Army continued to attack Rohingya civilians in northern Arakan State, including in Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships on 5 and 6 November.
Shobbir, a businessman from Maungdaw Town said that the army is attacking the Rohingyas under the pretext of searching for militants who attacked three Burmese Border Guard Police (BGP) camps on 9 October.
On 5 November at about 9 am Burma Army and BGP troops surrounded KoeTan Kauk (Don Say) Village and detained all of the 1,000 villagers.
Soldiers then seized four men and tortured them before taking them to Inn Din BGP Camp. Later, through the Burmese media, the army identified two of the men, Salim Ullah (40), son of Mohamed Sharif and Mohamed Nabi (42), son of Nabi Hussain as Rohingya militants.
On the evening of 5 November the female villagers were allowed to return home, but the army continued to detain the male villagers in the school, according to one of the villagers, Rakib Hassan.
On 6 November at 3am Burma Army soldiers and BGP troops surrounded and then raided Naya Para in Myient Hlut Village Tract, according to Mohin who lives in the area. He said that many villagers fearing arrest and torture fled, leaving mainly old people in the village.
Despite this the troops still entered the village. They shot dead two villagers and beat up and tortured others. One of the villagers who was killed was Rahamat Ullah (45), son of Eliyas. His son, Mohamed Shohid is also in a critical condition after soldiers beat him with their rifle butts because he started crying when his father was killed.
At 7am hundreds of Burma Army soldiers surrounded the Maungdaw South villages of Padin, Boddil, Gojzon Dia and Du NNyaung Pyin Gyi (Shaira Para), according to people from those villages.
At around 9am 30 soldiers entered Zurforza Village in Aley Than Kyaw Village Tract, but fortunately the villagers saw the soldiers approaching and many fled the village before the soldiers arrived, according to a youth from the village who did not want to be named.
At about 10.30am soldiers also raided the village of Thawan Chaung (Bossara) in Maungdaw South, said a village elder who did not want to be named.
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
