Report: Myanmar military committed mass rapes of Rohingya women
What's the story
A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report has accused the Myanmar military of gang-raping several women and girls belonging to the Rohingya Muslim community.
The HRW said the sexual violence and the atrocities allegedly committed by Myanmar security forces constituted crimes against humanity.
The alleged actions were committed during a brutal military campaign that forced over 600,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh since August.
Who are Rohingyas?
Rohingyas believed to be world's most persecuted minority
The Rohingyas are an ethnic Muslim group who constitute around one million of Myanmar's predominantly Buddhist 50 million population.
They speak a Bengali dialect and mainly reside in the country's impoverished northern Rakhine state.
Myanmar views them as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and doesn't officially recognize them as its citizens, rendering them stateless.
The Rohingyas have allegedly been subjected to human rights abuses by Myanmar.
Data
HRW interviewed 28 survivors of gang-rape
The HRW report is based on numerous interviews with rape survivors, relief organizations and Bangladeshi health officials.
HRW interviewed 29 rape survivors, of whom, 28 were gang-raped by two or more soldiers. Eight women reported being raped by five or more soldiers.
In six cases of mass rape, the soldiers gathered the women and proceeded to beat and gang-rape them.
Quote
Actual number of rapes could be in the hundreds
"Humanitarian organizations working with refugees in Bangladesh have reported hundreds of rape cases. These most likely only represent a small proportion of the actual number," the Human Rights Watch Report says.
The horror
Rape survivors endured agony of swollen, bleeding and torn genitals
The women described how Myanmar troops murdered their young children, spouses, and parents before raping them.
Several rape survivors claimed they endured the agony of walking for days to Bangladesh with swollen, bleeding and torn genitals leading to infections.
Many women reported symptoms of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.
The rape survivors have been unable to receive the necessary healthcare in Bangladesh.
Example
15-year-old girl recounts horrific gang rape
15-year-old Hala Sadak from Hathi Para village in Maungdaw Township said she was stripped naked by soldiers who dragged her to a tree near her home.
She said around 10 men raped her from behind.
"They left me where I was. When my brother and sister came to get me, I was lying there on the ground, they thought I was dead," Sadak said.
Denied allegations
Myanmar has repeatedly rejected sexual violence allegations
Myanmar authorities have repeatedly rejected the growing allegations of sexual violence by the military.
In September, the border security minister of Rakhine state denied the reports saying: "Where is the proof? Look at those women who are making these claims - would anyone want to rape them?"
Meanwhile, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi's silence over the atrocities has attracted widespread global outrage.