Myanmar’s military has admitted that its troops abused prisoners in Rakhine State after a video of soldiers battering blindfolded detainees went viral on social media.
This is a rare admission of wrongdoing by a force often accused of acting with impunity.
It could be recalled that the video had emerged on Sunday, which showed plain-clothed men punching and kicking the heads of handcuffed and blindfolded detainees arrested on suspicion of being Arakan Army (AA) insurgents.
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According to the army chief’s office website, The incident occurred while they were being transferred to Rakhine state capital Sittwe by boat on April 2.
Myanmar’s armed forces have been involved in an increasingly brutal war with the rebels, who are fighting for more autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists.
Some security force members had interrogated the prisoners in a way contravening the law.
According to a statement from the military, action would be taken against those responsible but failed to give details on what type of punishments it is.
The video shared tens of thousands of times has created splitting opinion between those outraged and people defending the soldiers.
The families of the arrested men deny they have any links to the AA.
“He just works in a rice shop. He doesn’t know anything about the AA,” Ni Ni, the mother of 24-year-old detainee Nyi Nyi Aung, told AFP by phone.
The video shows Nyi Nyi Aung’s interrogator yanking his head back by the hair as he punches him in the face before another guard kicks him in the head.
Military ‘impunity
The situation has left scores killed, with hundreds wounded and some 150,000 people have fled their homes since fighting erupted in January last year.
UN rights expert Yanghee Lee had last month called for an investigation into Myanmar’s military operation for possible “war crimes and crimes against humanity” in the conflict.
Lee had alleged that the military had made dozens of AA suspects disappeared, after allegedly torturing and killing them. He added that they also blocked aid and stopped the injured civilians from reaching hospitals.
. Beating Video: Myanmar Army Finally Admits Prisoner Abuse Follow iDONSABI.