Nearly 300 Rohingya villages torched in Myanmar: HRW

The rights group used satellite images to identify 288 partially or completely burned villages in Rakhine state, where tens of thousands of structures were destroyed, reports Efe news. "These latest satellite images show why over half a million Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in just four weeks," Deputy Asia Director of HRW Phil Robertson said.

"The Burmese military destroyed hundreds of Rohingya villages while committing killings, rapes, and other crimes against humanity that forced Rohingya to flee for their lives."

The HRW said that 90 per cent of the affected villages were in the Maungdaw town, adding that Rohingya houses were burned while adjacent areas inhabited by the Rakhine Buddhists were left intact.

The report also said that at least 66 villages were burned after September 5, when the government's operation, started after the Rohingya rebel attack on August 25, was declared to be over. According to the UN, more than 530,000 Rohingya have been forced to flee to Bangladesh since the offensive began. More than one million Rohingyas lived in Rakhine prior to the latest round of offensive and had been facing growing persecution since the outbreak of sectarian violence in 2012, which left at least 160 dead. Myanmar denies citizenship to the Rohingyas, considering them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, and imposes multiple restrictio ns on them, including restrictions on their movement.

Meanwhile, the UN food aid agency withdrew a critical report revealing desperate hunger among the Rohingya Muslim minority after the Myanmar government ordered it to be taken down, the media reported on Tuesday.

The July assessment by the World Food Programme (WFP) warned that more than 80,000 children under the age of five were "wasting" - a potentially fatal condition of rapid weight loss, reports the Guardian. The six-page document has since been replaced with a statement saying Myanmar and WFP were "collaborating on a revised version".

That process would involve "representatives from various ministries, and will respond to the need for a common approach" that was in line with "WFP's future cooperation with the government".

When asked why the July report was removed, the WFP said it was withdrawn from the website "following a request by the government to conduct a joint review", the Guardian reported. Meanwhile, the UN's most senior official in the country is scheduled to leave at the end of the month amid allegations she suppressed another report and also attempted to shut down public advocacy.