Myanmar casualties may represent war crimes: U.N.'s Bachelet

[September 14, 2020]    GENEVA (Reuters) - The U.N. human rights chief said on Monday that three years after a Rohingya exodus "no concrete measures" on accountability had been taken by authorities and said some cases of recent civilian casualties in Myanmar may represent war crimes.

Myanmar police officer stands guard in Maungdaw, Rakhine July 9, 2019. REUTERS/Ann Wang

"In some cases, they appear to have been targeted or attacked indiscriminately, which may constitute further war crimes or even crimes against humanity," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet told the Human Rights Council in Geneva, speaking of casualties in Rakhine and Chin States.

She also noted satellite images and eyewitness accounts indicating that areas of northern Rakhine had been burnt in recent months, describing this as "troubling" and calling for an independent investigation.

(Reporting by Emma Farge and Poppy McPherson)

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