YANGON, Myanmar - More than 1,000 houses in Rohingya villages have been razed in northwestern Myanmar, according to analysis of satellite images from Human Rights Watch released Monday that fly in the face of government denials. Up to 30,000 people have been displaced by the ensuing violence, according to the UN, half of them over a two-day period when dozens died after the military brought in helicopter gunships. Hundreds of Rohingya, who have long been persecuted by the state, have tried to flee the violence to neighbouring Bangladesh. Human Rights Watch said Monday it had identified 820 more structures that had been destroyed in five Rohingya villages between November 10-18 using satellite imagery. More than 100 people died in 2012 in clashes between the majority Buddhist population and the Muslim Rohingya, and tens of thousands of them were driven into displacement camps.

Source: Bangkok Post November 21, 2016 05:45 UTC