Muslims in Myanmar have condemned recent fatal attacks on police station outposts in troubled western Rakhine State which the government has blamed on a little-known extremist group.
About 40 people -- including nine police, four soldiers and 26 suspected attackers -- were killed following attacks on three police station outposts in Maungdaw and Yathay Taung townships early Sunday.
The areas are predominantly occupied by the country's stateless Rohingya Muslim population -- described by the United Nations as one of the world's most persecuted minority groups -- although none of the assailants have been identified.
Myanmar’s government said Friday night that the raids that killed 9 police officers were conducted by the Aqa Mul Mujahidin organization, which it described as being affiliated with the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), a shadowy extremist group that takes its name from the Rohingya.
“The attacks in Maungdaw Township were systematically planned in advance over a long period of time, assisted by foreign funding and the support of members of foreign terrorist organizations,” said a statement from the Myanmar President’s Office.
Though most experts believe the RSO’s continued existence is a myth, the government has classified it as an extremist group and officials blame it for recent attacks on border areas.
A former Rohingya lower house lawmaker told Anadolu Agency Friday that RSO had been extinguished long ago.