In this Nov. 24, 2016 photo, two sisters who were gang-raped by the army in their village, Udang in Rakhine State pose for a photograph in Teknaf, in Cox's Bazar district in Bangladesh. Stories of gang rape, torture and murder are emerging from among the thousands who have fled to Bangladesh. (Photo by Sam Jahan/AFP)
Myanmar government forces committed rape and other sexual violence against ethnic Rohingya women and girls as young as 13 during security operations in northern Rakhine State in late 2016, Human Rights Watch said Feb. 6.
The Myanmar army and border guard police personnel took part in rape, gang rape, invasive body searches, and sexual assaults in at least nine villages in Maungdaw district between Oct. 9 and mid-December.
Survivors and witnesses, who identified army and border police units by their uniforms, kerchiefs, armbands, and patches, described security forces carrying out attacks in groups, some holding women down or threatening them at gunpoint while others raped them. Many survivors reported being insulted and threatened on an ethnic or religious basis during the assaults.
"These horrific attacks on Rohingya women and girls by security forces add a new and brutal chapter to the Burmese military's long and sickening history of sexual violence against women," said Priyanka Motaparthy, senior emergencies researcher. "Military and police commanders should be held responsible for these crimes if they did not do everything in their power to stop them or punish those involved."
