members of the armed forces and the PDF in Mandalay city. He said that “immigration staff joined
the Tatmadaw” during the raid, because “Muslims were involved with the PDF”, before using
multiple derogatory terms to refer to their skin colour. “PDF and Muslims, 12 killed and four
arrested,” he wrote in the post which received over 3,000 likes and more than 600 shares.
No independent media reports indicated that any of the fighters were Muslim, or that immigration
staff were involved, and none put the death toll as high as 12.
In an instance of targeted harassment, a pro-military Facebook account accused another user of
being behind a grenade attack on a military vehicle in Yangon’s Tarmwe Township on June 18, just
because he had posted in support of it. The post, which was shared over 1,100 times, said the alleged
bomber was a “Muslim” and “GZ terrorist who supports the Rohingya cause”, because he previously
posted in support of the Rohingya. The user targeted by the post seems to have since deleted their
account.
The Anti-Fascist Armed Forces group claimed responsibility for that attack, and a handful of others
in Yangon, but rejected accusations that it was religiously motivated. The group’s leader told Frontier
the accusations were a “propaganda scandal” and said the military and its supporters “always use
religious conflict as their weapon”. He said the group does include some Muslims, but also “people of
all faiths, races and genders who oppose fascism”. He said they have no religious orientation but are
united by a common goal: “We are against the military dictatorship.”
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