Myanmar launches investigation into abuse of Rohingya Muslims by security forces

The selfie-style video shows brutality of Myanmar police while beating and kicking Rohingya Muslimshttps://t.co/FLbOjnjH21 pic.twitter.com/JZPBbEPzui

— DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) January 4, 2017

Myanmar authorities opened an investigation into the abuse of Rohingya Muslims by security forces after a video showing police officers beating and kicking villagers went viral over the weekend, state media reported Monday.

The selfie-style film was shot by a member of the border guard police on November 5 during "clearance operations" in Kotankauk village, northern Rakhine state, the state counsellor's office said in a press release cited in state media.

Three officers responsible for beating villagers were identified and more were under investigation, the press release said.

"Now, according to the initial reports, three police officers were detained," Zaw Htay, chief government spokesperson, told dpa.

"We have rules and regulations for police ... They will be punished according to that police law."

Myanmar security forces have been accused of extreme violence during security sweeps of villages throughout northern Rakhine, near the country's western border, following deadly attacks on police in October.

Thousands of Rohingya have since fled across the border into Bangladesh.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar has long discriminated against the stateless Rohingya, who rights groups say are among the most persecuted peoples in the world.

More than 120,000 have been trapped in squalid displacement camps since violence erupted in 2012 in Rakhine, where they are denied citizenship, access to healthcare and education.

More than a dozen Nobel laureates wrote to the UN Security Council last week urging action to stop the "human tragedy amounting to ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity" in northern Rakhine.

Under Myanmar's junta-era constitution Suu Kyi's civilian administration has limited power over the army, which maintains control of the defence, home and border ministries.