for East and Southeast Asia said. Continuing violence On 30 June 2013, rioters in the west coast town of Thandwe burned two homes. The riot had started because of rumours that a Muslim man had raped an underage girl, or territory dispute between Rakhine and Muslim trishaw riders. Three Muslims were injured in the fire. Roads in and out of the town were blocked and a government spokesperson said the Myanmar police were working to find the offenders. On 21 March 2022, the Biden administration declared that Myanmar's military has committed genocide against the Rohingya minority. The Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the US has seen evidence pointing to a clear intent to destroy the Rohingya, with reports of killings, mass rape, and arson. On 4 July 2022, a United Nations investigator has documented apparent war crimes by the Myanmar military and released shocking footage of brutal killings allegedly in Sagaing region. On 10 May, 30 men were captured after a Myanmar military raid in Mon Taing Pin village, in Ayadaw. At least five of them later appear dead, their hands bound, shot from behind. Few images obtained by Radio Free Asia (RFA) gives damning evidence of the brutal operation which reinforce a pattern of killings that bear the hallmarks of the military’s atrocities. Ethnic cleansing Government of Myanmar has been accused by the UN of ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya population and committing state-sactioned crimes such as extrajudicial executions, mass murder, genocide, torture, gang rapes and forced displacement against them but Myanmar denies it. In August 2017 new massacres and burning down of Rohingya villages by Myanmar Army were reported. In 2020 Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur to Myanmar, stated the Tatmadaw had been emboldened by extra powers granted to them during the coronavirus pandemic. Investigations led by Amnesty International concluded that the airstrikes taken place in March/April 2020 by the Myanmar military, killed civilians including children. According to witness testimonies, Myanmar soldiers arbitrarily detained the civilians over alleged link to Arakan Army. The detainees were brutally tortured and beaten by the army. Internet has been cut-off for more than a year in the conflicted territory. The civilians are deprived of the humanitarian assistance over COVID-19 pandemic. Amnesty also reported the destruction and burning of villages in Rakhine and Chin State. Freedom of speech and political freedom A 2004 Amnesty International report stated that, between 1989