Myanmar’s military said it sacked a top general who was named in fresh EU sanctions against security officials accused of serious rights violations in the Rohingya crisis, including killings and sexual violence.
Myanmar is accused of waging a crackdown in Rakhine State that forced 700,000 to flee that the UN and major Western powers have said amounts to “ethnic cleansing.”
Its leaders have come under fire for taking little punitive action against the military, which says that its troops were responding to attacks by Rohingya militants.
Photo: EPA
However, the military late on Monday said on Facebook that Major General Maung Maung Soe, the former head of the western command in Rakhine, had been “purged” for poor performance.
The announcement came after the EU said he was among seven security officials hit with travel bans and asset freezes, but Myanmar did not link his sacking to the new sanctions.
Maung Maung Soe was first reassigned in November last year and his removal from his position in the western command was to “inspect his responsibility over his weakness while working for Rakhine State stability,” the Facebook post said.
Maung Maung Soe was also the target of US sanctions last year over the Rohingya crisis.
The statement added that Burmese Bureau of Special Operations Commander Lieutenant General Aung Kyaw Zaw — who is also on the EU list — was permitted to resign last month for health reasons and “weakness in serving duty.”
Canada on Monday said it was also imposing sanctions against the same seven figures named by the EU.
The EU said the individuals were targeted because of their “involvement in or association with atrocities and serious human rights violations committed against the Rohingya population in Rakhine State in the second half of 2017.”
“These violations include unlawful killings, sexual violence and the systematic burning of Rohingya houses and buildings,” it added.
Most Rohingya refugees have settled in squalid camps in neighboring Bangladesh and say they are too afraid to return to Myanmar, even though both nations have signed a repatriation deal.
Many refugees say they will not return without a basic guarantee of protection.
The UN this month signed a deal with Myanmar to allow its agencies to assess conditions on the ground in Rakhine, which they say are not yet ripe for a safe and voluntary return.
Burmese State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has faced global criticism for not standing up more for the Rohingya, although her supporters say she has little control over army actions.
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