Washington on Friday sanctioned four Burmese military and Border Guard Police (BGP) commanders and two Burmese military units for their involvement in ethnic cleansing in Rakhine State and other widespread human rights abuses in Kachin and Shan States.
Burmese military commanders Aung Kyaw Zaw, Khin Maung Soe, Khin Hlaing, and BGP commander Thura San Lwin, along with the 33rd Light Infantry Division (LID) and the 99th LID, will be facing the sanction.
Beginning in October 2016, the Burmese military committed widespread, systematic, and brutal acts of violence against Rohingya villagers across northern Rakhine State’s three townships—Maundaw, Buthidaung, and Rathedaung.
The violence increased substantially through sweeping military operations that responded to deadly militant attacks on August 25, 2017 that targeted Burmese border security posts.
In November 2017 the Administration determined that the situation in northern Rakhine constituted ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya, says a US Treasury Department statement.
Aung Kyaw Zaw
Aung Kyaw Zaw controlled military and border guard police operations in Western, Southern, and Southwestern Commands from 2015 to early 2018.
Subordinates under his command played leading roles in a crisis in Rakhine State, which included widespread human rights abuses which killed thousands and drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to Bangladesh, a situation the Secretary of State determined to constitute ethnic cleansing.
KHIN MAUNG SOE
Khin Maung Soe was a senior commander of the Military Operations Command (MOC) 15 and its members participated in the Maung Nu massacre on August 27, 2017, and other abuses in Rakhine State.
In Maung Nu, soldiers reportedly beat, sexually assaulted, and summarily executed or otherwise killed dozens of Rohingya villagers.
THURA SAN LWIN
Thura San Lwin commanded the BGP from October 2016 to October 2017, during which time his subordinates engaged in widespread extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, assault, and other abuses of human rights.
KHIN HLAING
Khin Hlaing is designated for having been the leader of the 99th LID, a military entity whose members have engaged in serious human rights abuse during his tenure.
The 99th LID participated in abuses, including in November 2016 when 99th LID soldiers in Mong Ko, Shan State detained ethnic Kachin and Chinese minority villagers.
99TH LID
In 2017, the 99th LID was deployed to Rakhine State and participated in serious human rights abuses alongside the 33rd LID and other security forces.
In one operation in Min Gyi Village, hundreds of men, women, and children were reportedly forced to the nearby river bank where the 99th LID opened fire, executing many of the men, and forced women and girls to nearby houses where they were sexually assaulted.
A number of these women and children were later stabbed and beaten, with the houses set fire while they were inside.
33RD LID
The 33rd LID participated in abuses in Rakhine State, including the August 27, 2017 operation in Chut Pyin village. This operation included extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, and sexual violence, as well as firing on fleeing villagers. Hundreds were reportedly killed in this one operation alone.
Members of the 33rd LID, along with other security forces, also participated in operations in Inn Din in August and September 2017.
Nearly all of the thousands of Rohingya residing in Inn Din were driven out of the village.
Ten Rohingya men and boys were captured, bound, and executed by security forces and militia. Two journalists remain detained for their role investigating the incident.