A/HRC/39/CRP.2 crossed the Naf River, killing three men and two women.2008 Another witness described her experience while waiting for a boat: Soldiers started shooting, so we crawled away and lay down behind the plants in the mud. I saw many people being shot at. Dead bodies of men, women and children were floating in the river.2009 902. Soldiers also used large knives to kill or attempt to kill Rohingya individuals crossing the border.2010 A 13-year old boy explained that he was part of a large group waiting to cross the Naf River when they were attacked by soldiers. The boy was struck with a large knife and his arm was cut, but he managed to escape in the water. He saw the bodies of seven people who had been killed.2011 The Mission viewed the wound on the boy’s arm and found it consistent with wounds from a large knife or other sharp implement. 903. Tatmadaw soldiers also opened fire at groups of Rohingya gathered at the border, causing fear and panic but apparently no casualties. 2012 This gunfire seemed intended to instil fear and ensure Rohingya left Myanmar. Other groups of Rohingya who encountered the military en route were not subject to violence, but were threatened. 2013 One victim explained that he was part of a large group of approximately 200 Rohingya walking towards the border. They encountered a group of soldiers who surrounded them and said that, if they went to Bangladesh and promised never to come back, then they would allow them to go free. If they did not, the soldiers said they would be killed. 2014 Another victim was also approached by a group of armed Tatmadaw soldiers and told explicitly to leave or be killed: We were heading towards one of the main crossing point across the Naf River. We saw armed Tatmadaw soldiers there, who told us: “Go quickly to Bangladesh, otherwise we will kill you.”2015 904. Other Rohingya were killed and injured through beatings, 2016 which sometimes targeted the most vulnerable, including children, women and the elderly. 2017 A witness from Chut Pyin, Rathedaung Township, saw soldiers using their rifle butts to repeatedly beat her 70-year old brother in the head until he died. The beating was so severe that part of his brain came out of his head.2018 A survey estimated that 18.4 per cent of deaths during the “clearance operations” were as a result of beatings, the second highest reported cause of death after bullet wounds.2019 905. Another feature of the “clearance operations” was the widespread destruction of Rohingya homes and villages, causing further death and injury through burning. Houses were burned both manually using flammable liquid and matches, and by the use of “launchers”, weapons firing a munition that explodes upon impact. 2020 This latter method in particular meant that victims were often caught by surprise and had little time to escape. Death by burning in this manner disproportionately affected vulnerable persons less able to run and escape from the “clearance operations”, including the elderly, disabled, young children and pregnant women. Numerous witnesses reported that family members and others were left behind when they fled the fires. Information indicates that the number of people killed in this manner is high and likely underreported. 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 EI-034. EI-034. LI-019, LI-068. LI-019. LI-099, LI-028. LI-099, LI-028. LI-048. LI-099. CI-006, CI-146, EI-024, LI-008, LI-022, QI-018, YI-001. EI-052, LI-008, LI-022, LI-061. LI-008. Médecins Sans Frontiers, “Retrospective mortality, nutrition and measles vaccination coverage survey in Balukhali 2 & Tasnimarkhola camps” (Bangladesh, 2017). Details regarding the methods used to burn houses are set out later in this section. 209