Seven women raped during May Rulla night raid
November 8, 2016
Tensions are building up in May Rulla in Maungdaw after the
Tatmadaw raped at least seven women in the village on Monday during a night
raid.
The raid in which these multiple rapes took place follows an
arson incident in which a hostel that previously housed Rakhine school teachers
burned down. The school had earlier been closed down since the latest round of
violence erupted.
Rohingya villagers allege Hlun Htein burned down the hostel
in a pretext to crack down against the local populace in the region.
Raping Rohingya women has become increasingly common in the
past few weeks as the Tatmadaw launches a reign of terror on the Muslim
populace in the region. Activists from ethnic groups had earlier pointed out
the Tatmadaw uses rape as a weapon to demoralise minority communities and
destroy the fabric of their society before taking over their land.
In recent days, there have also been allegations that the
Tatmadaw is planting arms in Rohingya houses and using it as a pretext to
launch attacks against the beleaguered community.