Satellite images show Myanmar's 'minimal preparations' for Rohingya return: Think-tank

More than 700,000 Rohingya were forced to flee northern Rakhine state in western Myanmar during a 2017 military-led crackdown the United Nations has said included mass killings and gang-rapes executed with “genocidal intent”. Almost 400 Rohingya villages were burned to the ground during the violence.

Spokesmen for the Myanmar government did not answer calls seeking comment. Kyaw Swar Tun, deputy director of the Rakhine General Administration Department, declined to comment.Myanmar has repeatedly said it is ready to take back refugees, blaming Bangladesh for failed efforts to kick-start returns. The AHA Centre report, leaked to media in June, predicted that half a million refugees would come back within two years.

Government troops in the northern part of the state are now battling insurgents belonging to the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group seeking greater autonomy for the region that recruits from the mostly Buddhist majority.ASPI’s report described a pattern of “securitization” in the region since 2017, with six facilities suspected to be military bases built on top of former Rohingya settlements.

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