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Annan Urges Respect for Civilians in West Myanmar Violence

by Associated Press

   YANGON, MYANMAR --

   Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, seeking reconciliation among
   ethnic groups in fractious western Myanmar, has urged the army to
   respect civilians' rights as concerns rise about treatment of the
   Rohingya minority.

   Annan spoke Tuesday after a three-day trip to Rakhine state, where the
   army has been conducting aggressive sweeps since October, when
   unidentified armed men killed nine policemen manning posts along the
   border with Bangladesh.
   Human rights groups accuse the army of abuses including rape, the
   killing of hundreds of civilians and the burning of villages. The army
   denies the allegations.

   Annan heads a commission appointed in August by Myanmar leader Aung San
   Suu Kyi to recommend measures to ease tensions between the Muslim
   Rohingya and Rakhine Buddhists in the Buddhist-majority nation.