Myanmar authorities to investigate video showing police atrocities on Rohingya Muslims

Heads of security forces had previously stated that armed personnel were following the rule of law.

Authorities in Myanmar have said that they would investigate a video that apparently shows minority Rohingya Muslims being tortured at the hands of police. According to officials, the incident captured in the footage happened in restive Rakhine state in November last year.

The Burmese government said that the video was taken by an officer as police conducted a "clearance operation" in the town of Maungdaw in Rakhine after two police officers were shot. The footage showed a large group of villagers sitting in queues as officers stood beside them.

It also showed a policeman beating a man, while another officer kicked him in the face. Other men were seen being beaten in the video.

The State Counsellor's Office Information Committee said that necessary action would be taken against those officers who violated rules. But officials have previously said that security forces were following the rule of law.

Ethnic Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar have reportedly been victimised over the past few years as they are considered stateless minority and termed illegal immigrants in the Buddhist-majority country.

In 2012, violent clashes erupted between Rohingyas and the military, in which hundreds of people died while over 100,000 were left homeless.

The recent spurt in violence is believed to be the result of an attack on three security posts by nearly 250 armed men on 9 October. Since then, reports suggest that Myanmar's military has launched an operation to drive out ethnic Muslims from Rakhine.

However, the government has maintained that it is conducting counter-terrorism operations in the state and denied reports of killing innocent people or abusing them.

The investigation comes after numerous Nobel laureates have written to the UN Security Council and asked it to intervene and stop discrimination of Rohingya Muslims.

Malala Yousafzai and Archbishop Desmond Tutu were among 11 other fellow Nobel Prize winners who urged the council to end "ethnic cleansing" and crimes against humanity that they say is "unfolding" in the troubled region.