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Muslims in Myanmar Arrested Over Links to Non-Existent Terrorist Group

© AP Photo / Soe Zeya TunRohingya Muslims from Myanmar, who were rescued by the Myanmar navy alongside Bangladesh refugees, are interviewed by immigration officers at a Muslim religious school used as a temporary refugee camp, at the Aletankyaw village in the Maungdaw township, in Rakhine state May 23, 2015
Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, who were rescued by the Myanmar navy alongside Bangladesh refugees, are interviewed by immigration officers at a Muslim religious school used as a temporary refugee camp, at the Aletankyaw village in the Maungdaw township, in Rakhine state May 23, 2015 - Sputnik International
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Authorities in Myanmar arrested more than 15 Muslims believed to be members of a terrorist group that does not exist, the Intercept reported Monday.

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MOSCOW (Sputnik) The outlet said there was a possibility that Burmese authorities were inventing an Islamic terrorist organization in order to continue the persecution of Muslims in the country.

The exact number of those detained between September and November 2014 remains unspecified, but the Intercept gained access to documents and conducted interviews in Myanmar that point to three cases.

On one occasion, 12 people were accused of being linked to the alleged terrorist group. The second case relates to five people charged with plotting bomb attacks in several locations throughout the country, while there is also a man accused of financing the non-existent terrorist group.

According to a court document, cited by the outlet, the accused were trained by the Myanmar Muslim Army, the existence of which has not yet been proven.

The Rohingya ethnic group makes up the largest part of the Muslim population in Myanmar. Its members have been facing persecution by the country’s government, which forced some of them to flee to Bangladesh and Thailand.

Rohingya people have been denied citizenship and even subjected to physical violence.

According to the United Nations, there are more than 800,000 people without citizenship in Myanmar, while over 240,000 are internally displaced.

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