DHAKA: The Myanmar army says it shot dead at least 25 people in Rohingya Muslim villages in restive Rakhine state on Sunday.

It said the people killed had been armed with machetes and wooden clubs, reports the BBC.

On Saturday, the army launched attacks with helicopter gunships on Rohingya villages in Rakhine. Eight people, including two soldiers, died.

The attacks were “clearance operations” targeting armed militants, the army said.

Images and videos on social media showed women and children were among those killed.

Hundreds of villagers were forced to flee their homes over the weekend.

There's no independent media access to northern Rakhine State, so the official accounts must be read critically.

If you’re to believe the army version you have to accept that Rohingya men armed only with “wooden clubs and machetes” would launch attacks on soldiers equipped with guns.

You also have to accept the idea that the Rohingya are setting fire to their own homes, making themselves intentionally homeless.

State media report that the Rohingya torched 130 homes on Sunday in order to “cause misunderstanding and tension” and get international aid.

There’s a very different narrative on Rohingya social media. Again it should be viewed critically, in the past the Rohingya have exaggerated alleged atrocities.

The Rohingya images and videos from this last weekend show dead women and children and people fleeing burning homes. Helicopter gunships fly overhead. Some of it is certainly genuine.

BDST: 1220 HRS, NOV 14, 2016
RR