Rakhine Buddhist army kills seven in Independence Day attack

myanmar-military [File] Soldier from Myanmar military | PTI

Seven Myanmar security forces were killed in attacks by Buddhist Rakhine fighters on four police posts in Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state on Friday as the country marked Independence Day. The western state has been torn by violence once again since early December, when fighting intensified between government forces and the Arakan Army, which wants more autonomy for the Buddhist Rakhine ethnic minority.

Arakan Army spokesman Khine Thu Kha said that the group attacked four police posts and later retrieved the corpses of seven "enemies". 12 members of the Myanmar security forces were also detained by the group. The conflict between the government forces and the Arakan Army has displaced around 2,500 people who are sheltering in monasteries and other communal spaces. Hundreds and thousands of Rohingya Muslims have also been fleeing into the bordering nation of Bangladesh ever since the brutal military-led crackdown in 2017 .

The attacks were a response to a Myanmar military offensive against the Arakan Army in recent weeks that had also targeted civilians.  However, the security forces were responding to attacks by the Rakhine Buddhist group on December 28 that targeted two police posts in the northern parts of Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships, a rugged area near the border with Bangladesh. The Myanmar military last month announced a four-month halt in fighting in the north and northeast of the country to kick-start peace talks with multiple armed groups fighting for ethnic autonomy, but that announcement excluded Rakhine.

"The military will continue its operations in the area for security," Myanmar military spokesman Zaw Min Tun said. He declined to confirm how many people were killed and captured by the armed group."These police posts are there to protect the national races in the area so shouldn't attack them," he added. Those groups include the Rakhine but not the Rohingya.

The attacks began minutes after the national flag was raised across Myanmar to mark 71 years since independence from Britain. Khine Thu Kha  maintains that the attacks were not intended to coincide with the anniversary." We are not independent yet. Today is not our Independence Day," he said, referring to the Rakhine who he said faced discrimination in Myanmar.