Now, Myanmar's government is using bulldozers to literally erase them from the earth -- in a vast operation rights groups say is destroying crucial evidence of mass atrocities against the nation's ethnic Rohingya Muslim minority. The latest crisis in Rakhine state began in August after Rohingya insurgents launched a series of unprecedented attacks on security posts. A similar analysis by Human Rights Watch on Friday said at least 55 villages have been affected so far. Only 22 of the houses were slated for "Bengalis'' -- the word Myanmar nationalists often use to describe the Rohingya, who they say are illegal migrants from Bangladesh. Both Mr Weir and Mr Lewa said no mass graves were known to have been destroyed.

Source: Bangkok Post February 23, 2018 05:26 UTC