Rohingya Salvation Army declares temporary ceasefire

International Desk: Rohingya fighters in Myanmar have declared a month-long unilateral ceasefire in their fight against the army to enable aid groups to address a humanitarian crisis in Rakhine state.

The ceasefire announced on Saturday in a statement by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) is scheduled to start on Sunday.

"ARSA strongly encourages all concerned humanitarian actors resume their humanitarian assistance to all victims of the humanitarian crisis, irrespective of ethnic or religious background during the ceasefire period," the group said.

The statement also called on Myanmar's military to also temporarily lay down arms.

Nearly 300,000 Rohingya have fled from Rakhine to neighbouring Bangladesh and 30,000 non-Muslim civilians have been displaced inside Myanmar after the military launched a counter-offensive following attacks by ARSA on 30 police posts and an army base last month.

Witnesses say entire Rohingya villages have been burned to the ground since the security forces' operation, while the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of the risk of ethnic cleansing, appealing to the country's authorities to end violence against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state.

Source: Agencies

 

risingbd/Dhaka/September 10, 2017/A K Azad