Bodh Gaya blasts: Is Lashkar-e-Taiba training Rohingya Muslims?

Is the Lashkar-e-Taiba behind the training of Rohingya Muslim radicals in Myanmar? According to a report in the Hindustan Times, a note by India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) says exactly that. The report says,

The R&AW (Research and Analysis Wing) note circulated to the highest levels in the government in January indicated the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was trying to establish a toehold in Myanmar’s Arakan area by building a forum called Difa e Musalman Arakan (Burma) and mobilising a cadre to fight the Myanmar government. The note spelt out the links between Rohingya radicals with terrorist groups like the LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) of Pakistan, and Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami and Jamaat-e-Mujahideen of Bangladesh.

[caption id=“attachment_936699” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] The explosions at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya have been seen as a direct result of the Rohingya struggle in Myanmar. In fact it emerges that there had been several warnings issued to Buddhist places of worship, saying that they could likely be targeted. As Firstpost pointed out earlier, “From January, the Intelligence Bureau had issued several warnings pointing to heightened risks to Buddhist religious targets in India, as a consequence of anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar.” The Rohingya’s who according to the UN are one of the ‘most persecuted people of the world’, has seen radicalisation since as early as 1947. However in recent times they have extended their networks to the international level and other countries. They collect donations, and receive religious military training outside of Burma. According to this Asian Tribune report, “Arakan Rohingya Nationalist Organization (ARNO) and Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) were among the groups who were trained in Afghanistan camps and were and are active in Myanmar and Bangladesh.”