A leading international rights group has accused Burma of war crimes and ethnic cleansing, citing evidence of mass graves and forced displacement.
New York-based Human Rights Watch released a 156-page report Monday accusing authorities and even Buddhist monks of planning an organized campaign of ethnic cleansing against the country's Rohingya Muslim minority. Hundreds of people have been killed and more than 125,000 others have been forced from their homes.
The report said the Burmese government, local officials, the army, navy and police encouraged ethnic Arakanese in western Burma to conduct coordinated attacks on Muslim neighborhoods and villages in October to terrorize and forcibly relocate the population.
HRW called on Burma to accept an independent international commission to investigate crimes against humanity and provide redress. The group also urged Burma's donors to demand that the government urgently stop abuses and promote the safe return of displaced Muslims.
The Associated Press quotes a Burmese government spokesman as saying HRW investigators do not "understand the situation on the ground,' rejecting the allegations against the security forces. He says government forces were sent to the area to stop the unrest that he says stalls "the democratic process."