Almost three months after insurgents killed nine border guard police officers in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state, the government loosened its grip on the area this week by inviting a group of journalists and photographers on a three-day tour of places affected by the violence.
Diplomats, rights groups and the press have been calling for media access to Maungdaw and surrounding townships in northern Rakhine since the October 9 attacks, which were claimed by a new insurgent group drawn from the ranks of the country’s oppressed Rohingya Muslim minority.
The military operation to retrieve weapons and arrest suspects has resulted in mass displacement, the deaths of dozens of people, and allegations of widespread human rights abuses, including rape and the systematic torching of villages. The government maintains the stories are fabricated despite mounting evidence to the contrary, including satellite imagery and numerous testimonies. (Courtesy of voanews.com)
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