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U.N.: Burmese Troops Had “Genocidal Intent” in Targeting Rohingya for Sexual Violence

HeadlineAug 23, 2019

The United Nations says Burmese soldiers had “genocidal intent” when they waged a campaign of sexual violence against women and girls in 2017 as part of a broader assault on members of the Rohingya community in Burma. A U.N. fact-finding panel found that soldiers “routinely and systematically employed rape, gang rape and other violent and forced sexual acts against women, girls, boys, men and transgender people in blatant violation of international human rights law.” The panel recommended top Burmese officials be prosecuted for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The violence drove at least 730,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, where they settled in vast refugee camps near the coast. Most of them remain there today.

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