US report blames Myanmar for mass atrocities

A US government investigation concluded that Myanmar's military orchestrated a "well-planned and coordinated" campaign of violence against the country's Rohingya minority, but stopped short of labeling the atrocities "genocide" or "crimes against humanity."
The State Department probe, released quietly on Monday, included interviews with more than 1,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, according to a report published on http://time.com.
Over 700,000 members of the persecuted and mostly stateless minority now languish in refugee camps after they fled a devastating, military-led campaign of mass murder, sexual violence and arson last year.
An estimated 10,000 Rohingya were killed in the crackdown, according to U.N. investigators.
The State Department's report underscores both the staggering scale of violence, as well as the military chief's role in leading it: 84 per cent of interviewees reported witnessing a military-perpetrated killing or injury, while 40 per cent witnessed a rape committed by security forces.
"The survey reveals that the recent violence in northern Rakhine State was extreme, large-scale, widespread, and seemingly geared toward both terrorising the population and driving out the Rohingya residents," the report's summary says.
"In some areas," it adds, "perpetrators used tactics that resulted in mass casualties, for example, locking people in houses to burn them, fencing off entire villages before shooting into the crowd, or sinking boats full of hundreds of fleeing Rohingya."
The harrowing picture painted in the 20-page report could prompt calls for the US to adopt a more punitive stance toward Myanmar.
In December, the US sanctioned one general who oversaw the region where violence occurred. Additional embargoes were added against four commanders and two military units in August.
Yet Monday's report, which was released without any attention-grabbing fanfare like an accompanying press conference or a press release, did not identify further steps for accountability.
It also shied away from terms like "genocide" or "crimes against humanity," which could have legal implications committing the U.S. to tougher measures.