A Reuters investigation into the killing of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar prompted a request by Washington for an investigation into the bloodshed and the immediate release of two journalists who were arrested while working on the report.
The special report, published overnight, exposes events leading to the killing of 10 Rohingya men from the village of Inn Din in Rakhine state who were buried in a mass grave after being shot or killed by neighbors and Buddhist soldiers.
"As with other previous reports of mass graves, this report underscores the urgent and ongoing need for Burmese authorities to cooperate with an independent and credible investigation into allegations of atrocities in North Rakhine," said US State Department spokeswoman Heather. Nauert.
“Such an investigation would help provide a more complete picture of what happened, clarify the identity of the victims, identify those responsible for human rights violations and promote efforts for justice.
The Reuters report reported interviews with Buddhists who confessed to having set fire to Rohingya homes, buried bodies and killed Muslims in what they said was a frenzy of violence triggered when Rohingya rebels attacked the security posts last August.
The first time the soldiers and the paramilitary police were implicated, from the testimony of security personnel, in arson and killing in the north of the Rakhine state that the UN has said could be tantamount to genocide.
Myanmar said its "operation" is a legitimate response to insurgent attacks.
Asked about the evidence Reuters had uncovered about the massacre, Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay said Thursday, prior to the report's publication: "We are not denying allegations of human rights violations and are not giving outright denials."
If there were "solid and reliable evidence" of abuse, the government would investigate.
There was no comment from the government following the publication of the report.
"A TURNING POINT"
About 690.000 Rohingya have left their villages and crossed the border of Western Burma in Bangladesh since August.
UK Labor Party MP Rosena Allin-Khan told BBC News that the Reuters report was consistent with reports she had heard while working as a doctor in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh last year.
"We were spectators of a genocide," he said. "This trial marks a turning point because, for the first time since all of this began to unfold in August, we have heard the perpetrators themselves."
He said that, in addition to an international investigation, there had to be an interest from the International Criminal Court.
Human Rights Watch said that Myanmar's military leaders should be held accountable in an international court for alleged crimes against the Rohingya people.
"As more evidence emerges about Myanmar's military planning and intention to wipe out Rohingya villages and their inhabitants, the international community needs to focus on holding the country's military leaders accountable," said HRW Deputy Director Asia Phil Robertson.
Campaign group Fortify Rights also requested an independent investigation.
"The international community must stop stalling and do what is necessary to hold accountable those responsible before evidence is tarnished or lost, memories fade and more people suffer," said group chief executive Matthew Smith.
UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, David Kaye, said in a tweet: “During the writing of this article, two Reuters journalists were arrested by the Myanmar police, who remain detained and must be released ".
Yanghee Lee, the UN human rights investigator for Myanmar who has been banned from visiting the Rohingya areas, echoed the call and added in a tweet: “An investigation is urgently needed.
independent and credible necessary to get to the bottom of the Inn Din massacre. "
Police arrested two Reuters reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, the December 12 for allegedly obtaining confidential documents related to Rakhine and accused them of violating the Myanmar's official secrets law. They are in jail while a court decides whether they should be accused of holding documents
national reservations.