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A group of Rohingya Muslims that attacked Myanmar border guards in October is headed by people with links to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said on Thursday, citing members of the group.
The coordinated attacks on Oct 9 killed nine policemen, and sparked a crackdown by security forces in the Muslim-majority north of Rakhine State in the country's northwest.
At least 86 people have been killed, according to state media, and the United Nations has estimated 27,000 members of the largely stateless Rohingya minority have fled across the border to Bangladesh.
Predominantly Buddhist Myanmar's government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, blamed Rohingyas supported by foreign militants for the Oct 9 attacks, but has issued scant further information about the assailants it called “terrorists”.
A group calling itself Harakah al-Yakin claimed responsibility for the attacks in video statements and the Brussels-based ICG said it had interviewed four members of the group in Rakhine State and two outside Myanmar, as well as individuals in contact with members via messaging apps.
The Harakah al-Yakin, or Faith Movement, was formed after communal violence in 2012 in which more than 100 people were killed and about 140,000 displaced in Rakhine State, most of them Rohingya, the group said.
Rohingya who have fought in other conflicts, as well as Pakistanis or Afghans, gave clandestine training to villagers in northern Rakhine over two years ahead of the attacks, it said.
“It included weapons use, guerrilla tactics and, HaY members and trainees report, a particular focus on explosives and IEDs,” the group said, referring to improvised explosive devices.
It identified Harakah al-Yakin's leader, who has appeared prominently in a series of nine videos posted online, as Ata Ullah, born in Karachi, to a Rohingya migrant father before moving as a child to Makkah in Saudi Arabia.
“Though not confirmed, there are indications he went to Pakistan and possibly elsewhere, and that he received practical training in modern guerrilla warfare,” the group said, noting that Ata Ullah was one of 20 Rohingya from Saudi Arabia leading the group's operations in Rakhine State.
Separately, a committee of 20 senior Rohingya emigres oversees the group, which has its headquarters in Makkah, the ICG said.
Groups like the militant Islamic State (IS) and Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent have referred to the plight of the Rohingya in their material, and the battlefield experience of at least some of the Rohingya fighters implied links to international militants, the ICG said.
However, ICG said the group has notably not engaged in attacks on the civilian Buddhist population in Rakhine. And Harakah al-Yakin's statements to date indicate its main goals are to end the persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar and secure the minority's citizenship status.
“It is possible, however, that its objectives could evolve, given its appeals to religious legitimacy and links to international jihadist groups, so it is essential that government efforts do not focus only or primarily on military approaches, but also address underlying community grievances and suffering,” the ICG said.
Comments (63) Closed
It is our duty to protect the ummah be it in kashmir or Myanmar , that does not mean we support violence and bloodshed, we want all nations where muslims are in minority to get their rights and freedom to do what they want.
What else did they expect ?
Until the corruption in pakistan is eradi ated and the money starts flowing down the chain poor people will always puckup weapons rather than pens to fight for their rights. Get rid of the corrupt government and everything will return to normal.
Expected there is nothing to surprise
@Zak pls help Uighurs in China.They are a suppressed lot!
Where ever there is a Problem you have your Name... Why cannot Government work for their people problem first
@wiserneighbour I think you are right
@Zak what do you mean by Total political ,economic integration of Pakistan with China .....pls explain
The world now talk on rummer of Pakistan or Saudi hand in Myanmar, why could not the world responded of genocide and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the state sponsored machinery against muslims.
@asad World is too busy with its own problems to help the ummah and hence OIC are only hope , people behind this report whose main aim was to defame Pakistan will not get much traction from the world and all their plans will fail against our great nation.
This simple message will never be understood, but eventually nature will take it's course.
@wiserneighbour , I have become your fan man..
Blaming only Myanmar Government on current Rohinga issues is one-sided.
The fact is far far away.
I belongs to this region, and recently spoke with people in Myanmar. This recent chaos was initiated by Military Associates, and they have paid money to these people so called rohingya's and few opportunists did this wrongful activity.
There are lot of reason, one key reason: Military not happy to share power corridors with civilian governments and the wants to take advantage with the situation like these.
What goes around comes around!
@wiserneighbour yes I fully agree with you...
What the world is coming to? The oppressed and the ones facing genocide are being labeled as "terrorist"!! And if someone is helping these poor souls, that act has been made "suspicious". There is a strong and urgent need to change the narrative about "terrorism".
@Tsriq same with kashmir eh?
But no comment on ethnoc cleaning and mass rape
What is so called OIC is doing ???
@Jg Many terrorist attacks in Pakistan and elsewhere have been carried out by well educated people. Its not the matter of education or poverty but the wrong ideology propagated for a long time to get certain objectives by vested interests. Its solution is to negate the ideology itself by proper planning.
International Crisis Group: You have always been mere spectator. We don't even know if ICG stands for Crisis Group "management" or to help Crisis "spread". The issue is NOT whether some people were born in Pakistan or whether some people were raised in Saudia. The issue is....why the world and ICG has failed to stop atrocities worldwide (at the hands of either government or those groups with might). Tens of thousands of unarmed/poor have been killed and all ICG is doing is .... NOT stopping spread of ethnic cleansing but naming birthplaces of a few. What an irony!
@M. Emad, Blaming only Kashmiri freedom fighters is also one-sided.
This is a drama, anywhere where these issues occur, lets blame Pakistan. Burma forgets that they share a border with India, which is always first to blame Pak for its issues. The fact of the matter is the Burmeese PM has failed to raise the issue of the genocide being carried out in her country, there was so much hope on her, but he has failed miserably just to stay as PM. I think Pak should take this allegation seriously, and if not proven, stop some sort of licnk with that country, Pak needs to remember that economically, they are one of the fastest growing economies, and they need to start using that to their advantage.
Rightly or wrongly Pakistan has a serious image deficit problem and it is further fueled by such news where for any wrong doings, footprints lead to Pakistan in some way or the other to Pakistan. Reality is Pakistan itself is a major victim of violence and people are at the receiving end. Govt functionaries seem to be too busy in protecting their self interests that they don't even think the need to improve Pakistan image.
@asad The world will speak what it wants to or what they like, the point is who is raising our voice and how forcefully. Do you hear any noise or is it silence?
Vote for the motion to take back ASSK's nobel peace prize at
https://www.change.org/p/take-back-aung-san-suu-kyi-s-nobel-peace-prize
True or not put Pakistan's name in every terror related story in any country of the world...because Pakistan never fights back to clear its name, the terror activities done by India and Afghanistan in Pakistan are never reported by International media...Strange attitude...
Very cool , now the world media has got another chance to defame Pakistan.This media is still silent on the atrocities in Kashmir and Mynamar.
Another case of militancy sponsored by big powers the ordinary people suffer.
"people with links to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan"
What a lame statement. We also know that USA is present in Af-Pak area since 2001 and these rouge elements operate right under their nose or who knows USA is indirectly involved with them.
Oh wow, what will we hear next, Afghan government is facing problems because of children of Afghan refugees who were born in Pakistan.
Collective punishment. This becoming a typical pattren against Muslim minorities in non-Muslim countries
@hk - government itself is causing harm to our image. And all the kings horses and all the kings men are busy putting humpty dumpty together again.
@Zak Muslims have responsibility to stop massacres and mass migration of their Muslim brothers in Syria. Deafening silence of over 1 billion world Muslims on the death of nearly 1 million Muslims and displacements of several millions shall become part of Muslim history. Not even protests by Muslims on such mass scale atrocities of Syrian Muslims.
@Ravi what 1 billion muslims got to do with the war that was started and fueled by western countries?, lets not forget the "moderate rebels" that were funded by us against assad regime when the cuvil war started at first were funded and backed by usa. They turned out to be you kno who. So whos to blame?. Whos causing all these wars. Surely aint the muslims. Matey.
The International crisis group is a shady organisation which suddenly crept up and in line with certain powers. How can a person born in Karachi end up in Mayanmar. Next they will say 'Trump' was born in Lahore.
@wiserneighbour Why, Uighurs are not killed by bullits, pellet guns and mass graves are found every weak, like in Indian occupied kashmir.
O now all the Buddhist terrorism has been forgotten. Who will answer for the genocide committed on the Rohingya Muslims by the Buddhists?
Sui kyi's silence is deafening. She gets a noble prize for peace...goes to show what joke this accolade has become.
Suu Kyi should be stripped of her Nobel prize. She is a opportunist.
@Zak join politics... You have a right wing approach. And leaders with right wing approach are in demand from east to west.
@Ouzzy read history mate. It was not the west who started the wars. No wonder the are the influential. But this problem is created by self proclaimed leaders and regimes.
yet another front terror organization in the making, that will damage the Rohingya's legitimate demands
so they want rohinga to be killed but not retaliate in defence--wow---this is the story every where when an opressed people fight back,they are labelled terrorists--remember 1857 war of independence in india was labelled MUTINY by brits
@Lubna Beg
Might is right and accept it . But what is intriguing is the Military Dictator is killing Rohingya minority but nobody is talking about this. And name of Pakistan is given as the main villain !!
"some of the Rohingya fighters implied links to international militants"
This is a very irresponsible statement . Why pick three, four people , link them to your agenda and target a faith ? The reality is that instead of addressing the concerns of rohingya people Myanmar is burning their villages. People are being forced to enter Bangladesh and international community is also putting pressure on Bangladesh to accept refugees.
Politics being played all over the world. Muslims are an easy target, so nothing surprising here.
It is again a revenge movement of utterly dejected and frustrated to the limit people who seek equality with others of the same nation.
We need to find the root cause of all the hatred towards Muslims around the world , it will be our greatest work towards humanity .
Myanmar should know better than killing innocent muslims will have consequences. Nothing goes unpunished. Please safeguard all lives.
The International Crisis Group (ICG) was sleeping when muslims were killed by the Misanmar government?
CPEC will take care of everything. We will become a super power in no time.
Persecute a group and at some point they will fight back and that is what is happening.
I think it is about time, these people should be given all rights in Burma.
@wiserneighbour hahah love you bro
@Zak first fight with poverty, indication, Corruption,Health Sector peoblms, Electricity problems, millitancy.........
Big powers are happy to see Muslims being killed in Kashmir and Myanmar. They will never rescue Muslims and will never allow them freedom from oppressors and murderers. There are no equality and justice in this world.
@Ouzzy The question is why you fight each other? You are conceding here you have no common sense.
@Zak It is also your duty as Ummah to treat minorities well in Muslim majority country. Is that happening ? think about it. What goes around comes around.
@DR.SALARIA AAMIR AHMAD :Who are "they"--the Rohigya or the rest of Myanmar?
@Zak :Yes, Inshallah,ZAK!
@Concerned Pakistani : It's either in the water or the ideology--Take your pick!