A new report from a United Nations-backed investigative body has concluded that Myanmar's military systematically destroyed Rohingya villages, mosques, and farmland following the 2017 crackdown, subsequently building security outposts and military bases on the seized land.

The report, published Monday by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), provides compelling evidence based on eyewitness testimonies, satellite imagery, video footage, and official documents. It asserts that these actions were part of a deliberate campaign to erase the Rohingya presence from their ancestral lands in Rakhine State.

"Myanmar authorities systematically destroyed Rohingya villages, mosques, cemeteries, and farmlands," the report states, adding that official documents confirm authorities were aware of the Rohingyas’ legal land rights and ownership even as the destruction occurred.

The findings are linked to the brutal military operation launched in August 2017 after a Rohingya militant group attacked around 30 police outposts. The subsequent crackdown, which the UN has previously described as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing," triggered a massive humanitarian crisis. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were forced to flee, with nearly 1.3 million now living in overcrowded refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh.

The IIMM was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2018 to collect evidence of the most serious international crimes committed in Myanmar since 2011, with the goal of ensuring future accountability and justice.

According to the news agency Reuters, a spokesperson for the Myanmar military did not respond to a request for comment regarding the report's findings. In the past, the Myanmar military has denied that it committed genocide during the 2017 operations, admitting only that crimes might have been committed by individuals.

BOB Post