The Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday reported the burning of 40 Rohingya villages in Myanmar in a military campaign, which led more than 655,000 people of this Muslim community to flee to Bangladesh.
The HRW used satellite images to identify the new incidents, raising the total number of villages completely or partially razed to 354 since the beginning of the military offensive on August 25, reports Efe news.
In a statement, the rights group said that some of the cases detected occurred the same week that the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a memorandum on November 23, to begin the repatriation of the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have crossed the border.
HRW Asia director, Brad Adams, said the continued destruction of Rohingya villages shows that the commitment signed to ensure the safe return of refugees is merely a public relations stunt.
“The satellite imagery shows what the Myanmar Army denies: that Rohingya villages continue to be destroyed. The Myanmar government pledges to ensure the safety of returning Rohingya cannot be taken seriously,” said Adams.