’Hundreds of Rohingya killed  in Myanmar’

Staff Correspondent:The UN official on Friday said in a report detailing horrific abuses allegedly committed against civilians in Rakhine state that Myanmar's four-month military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims has likely killed hundreds of people.

“The 'area clearance operations' have likely resulted in several hundred deaths,” said the report from the United Nations human rights office, referring to the military crackdown launched on October 10.

The report based on interviews with 204 Rohingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh said it was “very likely” that crimes against humanity had been committed in Myanmar, echoing similar accusations made by UN officials.

Victims recounted gruesome violations allegedly perpetrated by members of Myanmar's security services or civilian fighters working alongside the military and police.

“An eight-month-old baby was reportedly killed while his mother was gang-raped by five security officers,” the rights office said in a press release, citing witness accounts.

The UN also said it had reports of three children aged six or younger being cruey slaughtered with knives”.

“What kind of hatred could make a man stab a baby crying out for his mother’s milk,” UN rights chief Zeid bin Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein said in the statement.

“What kind of 'clearance operation' is this? What national security goals could possibly be served by this?”, he added.

A full 47 percent of those interviewed by the UN said they had a family member who had been killed in the operation, while 43 percent reported being raped.

The Rohingya are loathed by many among Myanmar's Buddhist majority.