Afghanistan denounces mass killings of Rohingya Muslims

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan

Afghanistan on Monday joined the international community in denouncing the mass killings of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan denounces in the strongest terms the massacre of Rohingya Muslims by the military there.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while very strongly condemning the brutal and inhuman attacks by the country's military against its Muslims population, calls upon the United Nations and the human rights institutions of the world to take serious notice of the genocide and massacres of Muslim and oppressed people in Myanmar'', it said.

This comes as thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled violence in Myanmar in recent weeks. A total of 87,000 mostly Rohingya refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since security forces launched an operation against their community in neighboring Myanmar on Aug. 25, the United Nations said on Monday.

Media reports said Myanmar security forces used disproportionate force, displacing thousands of Rohingya villagers and destroying their homes with mortars and machine guns.

The region has seen tensions simmer between its Buddhist and Muslim populations since communal violence broke out in 2012.

A crackdown launched last October in Maungdaw, where Rohingya make up the majority, led to a UN report on human rights violations and crimes against humanity by security forces.

The UN documented mass gang-rape, killings -- including infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances. Rohingya representatives have said approximately 400 people were slain during the crackdown.