Myanmar’s military said its soldiers had murdered 10 captured Muslim “terrorists” during insurgent attacks at the beginning of September, after Buddhist villagers had forced the captured men into a grave they had dug.
“Villagers and members of the security forces have confessed that they committed murder,” the military said in a statement on Wednesday, according to a Reuters report.
It was a rare admission of wrongdoing by the Myanmar military during its operations in the western state of Rakhine.
The army launched a sweeping counteroffensive in the north of the state in response to Rohingya militant attacks on Aug. 25, triggering an exodus of more than 0.65 million (650,000) Rohingya Muslim villagers.
The United Nations has condemned the army’s campaign as ethnic cleansing. Myanmar denies that, saying its forces were carrying out legitimate counterinsurgency operations.
The military announced on Dec. 18 that a mass grave containing 10 bodies had been found at the coastal village of Inn Din, about 50 km (30 miles) north of the state capital Sittwe. The army appointed a senior officer to investigate.
The military said on Wednesday its investigation had found that members of the security forces had killed the 10 and that action would be taken against them.
“Action will be taken against the villagers... and the security force members who violated the rules of engagement according to the law,” the statement said.
Action would also be taken against those who had failed to report the incident to their seniors, and those responsible for supervising the operation, it added.
Security forces had been conducting a “clearance operation” in the area on Sept. 1 when “200 Bengali terrorists attacked using sticks and swords”, the military said in a statement posted on the Facebook page of its commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
The military refers to members of the Rohingya Muslim minority as “Bengalis”, a term the Rohingya reject as implying they are illegal migrants from Bangladesh.