StarTribune
EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press
February 18, 2021
Associated Press
February 18, 2021
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. independent investigator on Myanmar said Wednesday that "hardened" troops are being deployed from a number of border areas in northern Rakhine state to some cities, raising the possibility of bloodshed and "a tragic loss of life."
Special rapporteur Tom Andrews said in an interview with The Associated Press that the initial restraint of police dealing with "robust citizen opposition to the coup" has moved on in some instances to use of rubber bullets, real ammunition being fired and use of water cannons.
He said he can now confirm "from a few sources" that some troops are moving to some populated cities from Rakhine, where the government is still fighting a Rohingya insurgency after a 2017 military crackdown that led 700,000 members of the Muslim minority to flee to Bangladesh.
Special rapporteur Tom Andrews said in an interview with The Associated Press that the initial restraint of police dealing with "robust citizen opposition to the coup" has moved on in some instances to use of rubber bullets, real ammunition being fired and use of water cannons.
He said he can now confirm "from a few sources" that some troops are moving to some populated cities from Rakhine, where the government is still fighting a Rohingya insurgency after a 2017 military crackdown that led 700,000 members of the Muslim minority to flee to Bangladesh.
"The people of Myanmar understand what the military and these generals are capable of, and so the presence of military and of troops, the escalation of a military presence, and where these troops are coming from makes me very, very nervous," Andrews said.