The attacks are thought to be a backlash in the wake of UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee’s statement, on 23 January, raising specific concerns over anti-Christian persecution in the camp.

“I also met with a group of Rohingya Christians who are in a most difficult position. They told me they were persecuted due to their religion by the Myanmar Government while they lived in Rakhine [Myanmar], and now they face hostility and violence from a small number of other camp residents. This worries me,” Yanghee Lee stated after a fact-finding visit to the camp as part of her investigation of human right violations in Myanmar (Burma).

An extremist mob, in gangs of at least 100, swarmed into the vulnerable Christian community on 27 January, four days after the expert’s report was released.

One individual went missing in the onslaught and is presumed dead at the time of writing. A man suffered a head injury as the extremists pelted stones at a church roof. Knife attacks, the use of acid and attempted arson were also reported.

The Muslim mobs ransacked the community’s church, removing the Bibles, and looted and destroyed the Christians’ houses, making at least 20 families homeless.

Camp security forces reportedly turned on the Christians, rather than protecting them, beating several and leaving one man unconscious. They also confiscated mobile phones containing evidence of the attacks.

In the immediate aftermath of the assaults, a Rohingya Christian leader posted a prayer for the attackers on Facebook. “O Lord please forgive our persecutors,” he said and recalled the stoning of Stephen: “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’” (Acts 7:59-60).

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