12 killed in overnight violence in Myanmar Rakhine

Myanmar says at least 12 people have been killed in attacks on police posts in the western state of Rakhine.

Seven Rohingya Muslims and five policemen were killed overnight on Thursday in the restive state, where the military is accused of committing atrocities against the persecuted Rohingya Muslim community.

A government statement said militants staged coordinated attacks on at least 24 police posts, while some 150 men were also attempting to break into a military base.

"The extremist Bengali insurgents attacked a police station in Maungdaw region in northern Rakhine state with a handmade bomb explosive,” said the statement.

Using the derogatory term "Bengali," the government refers to the Rohingya Muslims, who are denied citizenship in Myanmar.

Myanmar’s government brands the 1.1 million-strong Rohingya population in the country as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Rohingya Muslims, however, claim roots in the region that go back centuries.

Considered by the UN as the “most persecuted minority group in the world,” the Rohingya have been under a military siege in Rakhine since October 2016.  The government used a militant attack on border guards back then as the pretext to enforce the blockade.

There have been numerous eyewitness accounts of summary executions, rapes, and arson attacks by the military since the crackdown began.

ME