A United Nations probe into abuses against the Rohingya committed by Myanmar's military, released on Tuesday, determined the level of brutality employed was "hard to fathom".

Here are extracts from the speech delivered by Marzuki Darusman, chairman of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar in Geneva, as he unveiled the report.

- 'Extreme brutality' -

"With a heavy heart and deep sadness we have drawn conclusions, on the basis of the facts, that we never expected would be as grave as they are. What we have found are not only the most serious human rights violations, but crimes of the highest order under international law.

"At the core of every incident and every human rights violation we examined was the extreme brutality of the Myanmar military (known as the Tatmadaw).

"The facts indicate that its operations are consistently and grossly disproportionate to any discernible military objective. It enforces a vision of a Bamar-Buddhist nation that dominates the other 135 officially recognized ethnic minority groups, in which the Rohingya have no place. Moreover, it has no incentives to work towards peace or to respect human rights. This lies at the root of Myanmar's human rights problems, which have been documented for decades.

"We have verified the destruction resulting from Tatmadaw operations in numerous sites across the three States.

"It is hard to fathom the level of brutality of Tatmadaw operations, its total disregard for civilian life. I invite everyone here to judge for yourself.

- 'Etched in my mind' -

"The village Min Gyi (also known by its Rohingya name of Tula Toli) is etched in my mind. On the morning of 30 August 2017, Tatmadaw soldiers, accompanied by armed ethnic Rakhine and other ethnic minorities, descended on this Rohingya village, which is bordered on three sides by a river. Without notice, Tatmadaw soldiers entered by land, opening fire and burning houses.

"As villagers fled in the opposite direction, soldiers fired directly on people trapped between themselves and the riverbank. Many people were shot and killed. Those who could not escape were rounded up and separated by sex. The men were systematically killed. Children were shot, thrown into the river or onto a fire.

"The women and girls were taken in groups of five to seven to the larger houses in the village, where their jewellery was taken from them, They were beaten, and viciously raped. Many were stabbed and killed, along with their small children. The houses were then locked and set on fire with petrol brought by Tatmadaw helicopters.

"The destruction was complete. All the Rohingya houses and structures in Min Gyi were burned to ashes. All its inhabitants fled or were killed. Lists carefully compiled by Rohingya community volunteers in the refugee camps suggests that approximately 750 men, women and children died that day. This included people from our villages who had sought sanctuary in Min Gyi. All the interviewees identified Tatmadaw soldiers as the main perpetrators.

"This was not an incident of spontaneous inter-communal violence. The killing of civilians of all ages, including babies, cannot be argued to be a counter-terrorism measure. There can be no military imperative to rape women and girls or to burn people alive. It was a well planned, deliberate attack on a specific civilian population.

- 'Akin to Branding' -

"Another feature of Tatmadaw operations is sexual violence. Its scale, cruelty and systematic nature reveal beyond doubt that rape is used as a tactic of war.

"During the 2016 and 2017 clearance operations, 80 percent of rape survivors who were interviewed by the Fact-Finding Mission said they had been gang raped, and of those, over 40 percent were subjected to mass gang rape.

"Many women and girls were physically and mentally tortured while being raped - including being so severely bitten that it left permanent scars - it is difficult to believe that this was not an intentional act and akin to a form of branding. In Kachin and Shan state, women and girls, are commonly abducted for forced labour and raped while detained.

- 'Persecuted from birth to death' -

"In the case of the Rohingya, much of the animosity is attributed to historical reasons. The facts, however, indicate that there is more at play. Historical animosities do not explain the generally amicable relations prior to 2012 between ordinary Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine, who together comprise the majority of the population of Rakhine State. Relations deteriorated quickly that year, after hate speech against the Rohingya became more threatening, more vulgar and more pervasive. It was encouraged by the authorities, both civilian and military. It has only become worse since then, particularly since social media began to take root in Myanmar in 2015.

"The general public is relentlessly exposed to such hate speech, as well as misinformation from the authorities. Such hateful messages are taught in the religious schools and the military academy, and through traditional media and social media.

"This poisonous environment allows the Tatmadaw to maintain its self-proclaimed role as the 'protector of the nation'. Particularly during the last few years when it appeared that the process of democratization could have diminished its role, the Tatmadaw actively shored up its dominance by promoting the vision of a Bamar-Buddhist identity of the nation, unilaterally breaking ceasefires, and portraying the Rohingya as an existential threat.

"The Rohingya are persecuted, from birth to death. Restrictions severely curtail their ability to earn a livelihood, to access health care and education, and to marry and have children, to take but a few examples. The authorities impose severe movement and other restrictions on all manner of daily life activities by the Rohingya. These restrictions have intensified since last year, and are the reasons behind the continuing flow of people to Bangladesh today.

"These are the situation in which the remaining Rohingya are living. We take the occasion to emphasize that the same system of persecution would await any Rohingya who return. Neither the state of the physical environment nor discriminatory system allow for safe, dignified and voluntary repatriation of Rohingya to Myanmar at this time. There must be no repatriation without concrete human rights guarantees, including citizenship."

The Myanmar generals accused of 'genocide'
Yangon (AFP) Sept 18, 2018 - A UN probe is calling for six members of Myanmar's military -- including its commander-in-chief -- to be investigated for 'genocide' against the Rohingya.

A violent army crackdown last year forced more than 700,000 of the Muslim minority over the border into Bangladesh.

Here is what we know about those the UN team has singled out as most responsible for the crimes.

- Min Aung Hlaing -

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is the most powerful man in Myanmar.

As well as controlling all branches of Myanmar's military, he wields significant political might with three ministries -- defence, interior and border affairs -- reporting to him.

Military men also fill a quarter of parliamentary seats, giving the armed forces chief an effective veto over any constitutional changes.

Min Aung Hlaing, 62, was born in Dawei in southern Myanmar but grew up in Yangon.

He ditched his law studies after one year to embrace a military career, rising to the top in 2011 as Myanmar emerged from absolute junta rule.

During the crackdown against the Rohingya, UN investigators say he was "well-informed of real-time developments" with "a full picture of what was transpiring, both on his orders and on his watch".

Facebook removed his two official accounts last month, alongside 19 other individuals and organisations, to prevent them from using the website to "further inflame ethnic and religious tensions".

Before Min Aung Hlaing's pages were taken down, they boasted a combined total of about 4.1 million followers.

The army chief promptly switched to Russian social media platform VKontakte, but this week his account there was also taken offline.

- Soe Win -

A shadowy figure, Vice Commander-in-Chief Soe Win joined the military in 1980 and is known for his hardline stance and reluctance to speak publicly.

As the military number two, Soe Win was "heavily involved" with managing combat deployments in Rakhine, according to Amnesty International.

- Aung Kyaw Zaw -

Lieutenant General Aung Kyaw Zaw is the highest-ranking Myanmar military officer to be targeted by both US and EU sanctions.

He commanded the Bureau of Special Operations from 2015 to January 2018, making him fourth in the chain of command in the Rakhine operations last year, according to NGO Fortify Rights.

The group also says he was "embedded...on the ground", increasing the likelihood that troops were acting under his direct orders.

He was fired from the army in May this year for "weakness in serving duty", according to an army Facebook post, a move seen by many as an attempt to use him as a scapegoat.

- Maung Maung Soe -

The same fate awaited Major General Maung Maung Soe, formerly the chief of the military's Western Command, which includes Rakhine.

He was reassigned in November to "inspect his responsibility over his weakness while working for Rakhine state stability", the military said, later declaring that he had been "purged" for poor performance.

The US hit him with sanctions in December.

- Aung Aung -

The notorious 33rd Light Infantry Division (LID) is known to have played a leading role in committing atrocities against the Rohingya.

Brigadier General Aung Aung is the commander and would have given orders for troops to target specific villages, Amnesty says.

Its troops are implicated in the massacres in both Chut Pyin in Rathedaung township and Inn Din, where 10 Rohingya men were murdered in extrajudicial killings uncovered by two local Reuters reporters, who have since been sentenced to seven years in jail.

The US has sanctioned the 33rd LID.

- Than Oo -

The soldiers of the 99th Light Infantry Division, under the command of Brigadier General Than Oo, are implicated in the Tula Toli massacre in Rakhine's Maungdaw township.

His soldiers rounded up hundreds of Rohingya to a nearby river bank and opened fire on them, according to the US Treasury.

Women and girls were raped and the lives of young children were not spared.

In May, Than Oo was demoted to an auxiliary force.

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