Fears for the safety of international workers and vital aid efforts in troubled Rakhine State were raised on Sunday after the Myanmar government highlighted claims that international NGO staff had collaborated with terrorists, even as violence sparked by deadly attacks continued for a third day.
The government's allegations – condemned by observers as dangerously inflammatory – came as Reuters journalists on the border reported hearing gunfire from the Myanmar side as thousands of Rohingya refugees, mainly women and children, waited to cross the Naaf river into Bangladesh. The government said over 4,000 non-Muslim residents had been evacuated.
On Sunday, a Facebook post by State Counsellor Aung Sun Suu Kyi’s information committee, said the government was investigating the validity of “news” that international aid workers were among a group of “Bengali extremist terrorists” who had circled Taung Bazzar village the day before.
The government then immediately referred back to the discovery of food parcels from the UN’s World Food Programme at an abandoned terrorist camp on July 30. The post also showed a picture of WFP parcels along with gruesome photos of the bodies of what it said were members of a Hindu family of six – three adults and three children – who had been killed by terrorists on Saturday.
The UN said on Sunday it was evacuating non-essential staff from the conflict-hit north "in light of the situation on the ground". The withdrawal is understood to have already been under way before the allegations were made.
“WFP is aware of a photo of one box of WFP biscuits reportedly found in an alleged insurgent training camp last month. WFP takes any allegation of food diversions very seriously," a media representative of the Office of the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar said. "We have requested more details from the authorities and asked to see the batch number of the biscuits as this will allow us to trace its origins and distribution site."
Earlier this month, protests were held in the state capital Sittwe calling for international workers to be evicted from Rakhine. The UN also warned staff of security risk amid heightened anti-foreign tensions from the ethnic-Rakhine community.
Francis Wade, the author of Myanmar's Enemy Within which investigates anti-Muslim sentiment in Myanmar, said Sunday's post could "encourage direct attacks on aid workers who are seen to be complicit" and would threaten supply of aid to people who desperately needed it.
Most international NGO staff have not been granted travel permissions for the north in recent weeks, but the withdrawal of UN staff and other aid workers from the north is expected to further exacerbate the desperate levels of malnutrition in the region where many children are already perilously close to starvation level.
It will also further reduce international representatives in the area where allegations of rights abuses are rife, particularly after Muslim insurgents attacked police posts in October last year, putting the region under lock down while brutal reprisals were widely alleged to have been conducted.
Mr Wade warned the government's statement could play into broader anti-foreigner sentiment.
The post condemned foreign media for referring to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) as insurgents rather than terrorists, threatening to use international police to bring legal actions against foreign media deemed to be supporting the group. Myanmar on Friday declared the group a terrorist organisation.
“The government has already accused agencies like the UN of deliberately orchestrating a smear campaign to tarnish the country's image by highlighting the army's crimes. What concerns above all is that the civilian government will know the consequences - that this kind of rhetoric directly influences whether people participate in attacks on Rohingya and aid groups. Yet it proceeds nonetheless,” he said.
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Read more:
Terror and persecution go on for Myanmar's Muslim minority
Fresh violence kills 71 in Myanmar's Rakhine State
What hope now for the Rohingya in Myanmar?
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The UN and most other international NGOs are commonly perceived by the Buddhist ethnic Rakhine community to be biased in favour of the Rohingya Muslims - over 100,000 of whom have been confined to camps since violence broke out between them and their ethnic Rakhine neighbours in 2012.
In 2014, a rampaging mob attacked the bases of international NGOs in the town after growing tensions erupted when an international worker was accused of disrespecting a Buddhist flag.
“Things are as tense here for international staff,” one Sittwe-based international aid worker said on Sunday, comparing the current situation to 2014.
Ms Suu Kyi has previously accused international governments and organisations who have condemned Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya of inflaming tensions. She has been criticised in some international circles for aligning herself with the military over allegations security forces have committed rights abuses against Rohingya civilains and backed a refusal to allow UN fact-finders to investigate allegations of crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
By agreeing on Thursday to include international and regional representatives among those tasked with implementing the recommendations of former UN chief Kofi Annan’s Advisory Commission on the Rakhine state, Ms Suu Kyi appeared to be offering some hope that some international input into the solution for the long-running tensions would be continued.
But Sunday’s post from her information committee will only serve to heighten wider public mistrust of any foreign involvement.
Rakhine erupted into fresh violence in the early hours of Friday morning when Arsa conducted deadly attacks on 30 police posts – just hours after the commission led by Mr Annan delivered its recommendations on how to ease the ethno-religious tensions.
More than 1 million Rohingya Muslims live in Rakhine, most of them denied citizenship or basic freedom of movement.
The latest figures on Sunday placed the death toll in the wake of Friday’s attacks at 98 – including 12 security personnel and around 80 insurgents.
With northern Rakhine still under lock-down, it remained difficult to get a clearer picture of the situation on the ground, with social media posts including claims and counterclaims of violence on both sides.
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 6 (McTominay 2', 3'; Fernandes 20', 70' pen; Lindelof 37'; James 65')
Leeds United 2 (Cooper 41'; Dallas 73')
Man of the match: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3 (Silva 8' &15, Foden 33')
Birmginahm City 0
Man of the match Bernado Silva (Manchester City)
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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Company%20profile
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Results
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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