Myanmar Troops Continue Search For Dozens Of Missing Hindus One Day After Finding Mass Graves

Myanmar's Army has intensified the search for dozens of missing Hindu villagers feared dead after the discovery of a mass grave of 28 Hindus killed by Muslim Rohingya militants. Displaced Hindus from the area, where the mass grave was found, have shown AFP a list of 102 people, who relatives fear are dead.

A police officer in northern Rakhine said authorities are trying to verify that figure as they look for more bodies. “We will continue searching together with villagers,” the officer told AFP, requesting anonymity. With the government blocking access to the conflict zone, it is difficult to verify the maelstrom of accusations.

Myanmar's Army on Sunday revealed that security forces in the country have discovered a mass grave of 28 Hindus killed by Muslim Rohingya militants belonging to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) in the Rakhine state.

"Security members found and dug up 28 dead bodies of Hindus who were cruelly violently and killed by ARSA extremist Bengali terrorists in Rakhine State," a statement posted on the Army Chief's website said.

The army stated that security officers found 20 dead women and eight men in the graves, including six boys under the age of ten. Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay confirmed the discovery of the 28 bodies on Sunday.

A senior police officer in northern Rakhine told Agence France-Presse (AFP) they had been "buried with 10-15 bodies in each hole."

The village where the army chief said the bodies were found, Ye Baw Kya, is near a cluster of Hindu and Muslim communities in northern Rakhine called Kha Maung Seik. Hindus from the area have said that militants swept into their villages, attacking people, killing many and taking others away into the forest.

Northern Rakhine was plunged into crisis after Rohingya militants raided police posts last month, unleashing an army crackdown that has displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.

At least six Hindus were killed in the initial phase of violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, according to an Associated Press report.

With inputs from PTI and AFP