Page 9 - ARUBA TODAY

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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 23 May 2018

Rights group: Rohingya insurgents massacred Myanmar Hindus

By TODD PITMAN police posts and an army
Associated Press base in the volatile region,
BANGKOK (AP) — Amnesty provoking a bloody army
International said Wednes- counter-offensive that
day that Myanmar's army eventually drove nearly
was not the only group that 700,000 Rohingya civilians
has slaughtered civilians in into Bangladesh.
the country's volatile west. At the time, Myanmar of-
In a new report, it accused ficials said they had dis-
ethnic Rohingya insurgents covered two mass graves
of carrying out at least one containing dozens of bod-
brutal massacre when the ies, and that around 100
long-running conflict in Ra- Hindus were missing in all.
khine state exploded last The story, though, became
year. controversial after survivors
The London-based rights who reached Bangladesh
organization said it had in- gave conflicting testimo-
vestigated the widely re- ny to reporters, with some
ported killing of dozens of blaming ethnic Rakhine vil-
minority Hindus on Aug. 25 lagers instead.
in a village called Ah Nauk Amnesty International said
Kha Maung Sei, and con- In this Jan. 16, 2018, file photo, Hindu refugees stand outside their make shift shelters at Kutu- it based its findings on "a
cluded that Rohingya mili- palong refugee camp near Cox's bazar, Bangladesh. careful review of evidence"
tants were responsible. Associated Press that included the testimony
Claims that the Arakan Ro- of dozens of people and
hingya Salvation Army, or massacre there were first and security forces just was the same day Rohing- imagery analyzed by foren-
ARSA, had carried out a made by the government hours after it occurred. It ya militants attacked 30 sic pathologists.q

Israeli air force chief confirms first F-35 airstrike

By CARON CREIGHTON is a picture of the plane territory to launch attacks
Associated Press "over Beirut." He did not say against Israel.
JERUSALEM (AP) — The when the mission occurred, Israel's Channel 10 TV said
head of Israel's air force on but Syria and Iran have ac- the F-35 jets have recently
Tuesday revealed that it cused Israel of carrying out been deployed in two un-
used the next-generation a number of airstrikes re- specified operations. Their
F-35 fighter jet for the first cently in Syria. use remained secret until
time during a recent mis- On May 10, Israel acknowl- Tuesday's announcement,
sion. edged striking a series of the station said.
Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin Iranian targets in Syria in re- Norkin's comments can be
told a conference that he sponse to an Iranian rocket seen as a show of force
believes it was the first time attack launched from the from Israel's air force, send-
the fighter has been used neighboring country. ing a message of deter-
in the Middle East, and Israel has repeatedly said it rence to Iran and Hezbol- In this Dec. 29, 2016 file photo, an Israeli Air Force F-35 plane
that the air force is just be- will not allow Iran, its arch- lah, according to Channel performs during a graduation ceremony for new pilots in the
ginning to understand the enemy, to establish a per- 10's military analyst, Alon Hatzerim Air Force Base near Beersheba, Israel.
"huge potential" of the air- manent military presence Ben David. Associated Press
craft. in Syria. It fears that Iran Israel was one of the first
In a brief video clip re- and its Shiite proxies, includ- countries to acquire the advanced stealth tech- aircraft systems, according
leased by the army, Nor- ing the Lebanese group U.S.-made warplane, in nology allows it to evade to weapons manufacturer
kin points to what he says Hezbollah, will use Syrian 2016. The F-35 fighter jet's even sophisticated anti- Lockheed Martin.q