A/HRC/39/64 attacks and the theft of property, livestock and other possessions by members of other ethnic groups. Sporadic attacks, including sexual violence, continued. These factors forced more Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh, at an average rate of 1,733 per month since the beginning of 2018. 50. The mass displacement and the burning of Rohingya villages were followed by the systematic appropriation of the vacated land. Bulldozers flattened burned, damaged and even surviving structures and vegetation, erasing every trace of the Rohingya communities, while also destroying criminal evidence. Dozens of Rohingya villages have vanished. New structures include posts for security forces and housing for other ethnic groups. Government “resettlement” plans suggest that almost all houses to be constructed for displaced communities are designated for non-Rohingya. Other infrastructure projects appropriating Rohingya lands, including new roads and mines, are under way. 51. While the Government has, in principle, made a commitment to Rohingya repatriation, nothing indicates to date that this will be in a manner that ensures respect for human rights, which is essential for a safe, dignified and sustainable return of those displaced. The repatriation procedure requires acceptance of National Verification Cards and processing in barbed-wired reception centres. The root causes of the exodus, including State-sanctioned oppression and an exclusionary and divisive rhetoric, are denied, yet continue unabated. The security forces that perpetrated gross human rights violations with impunity would be responsible for ensuring the security of returnees. (d) Perpetrators 52. The “clearance operations” were led by the Tatmadaw, with other security forces, mainly the Myanmar police force and the border guard police. Units of the Western Command were actively engaged, together with the 33rd and 99th Light Infantry Divisions, which report directly to the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, General Soe Win. The Divisions were responsible for some of the most serious violations. Almost all instances of sexual violence are attributable to the Tatmadaw. 53. In some villages, Rakhine men participated in the operations, mostly looting and burning, but also killing and injuring Rohingya. Civilians from other minority ethnic groups were also involved in some places. The recurrent and organized involvement of civilian groups in the operations, and the consistent way in which they were equipped, tasked and executed their roles across the three townships, demonstrate orchestration by the Tatmadaw. 54. ARSA also committed serious human rights abuses, including the killing of dozens of suspected informants and the burning of the Rakhine village of Ah Htet Pyu Ma on 25 August 2017. Although the Government has claimed that ARSA burned Rohingya villages, the mission found no such indication. Other abuses allegedly perpetrated by ARSA, including several incidents where Rakhine and members of other ethnic groups, including the Mro, were killed, require further investigation, as does the killing of up to 100 Hindu men and women from Kha Maung Seik. The mission’s primary source information on the latter incident corroborates the killing, but is inconclusive as to the perpetrator. Other militant or criminal groups were also active in the region and may have been responsible also for abuses. B. Kachin and Shan States The Tatmadaw soldiers don’t treat us like humans, they treat us like animals. They look at us as though we shouldn’t even exist. 55. Similar patterns of conduct by security forces, particularly the Tatmadaw, have been witnessed elsewhere. The mission focused on the situation in northern Myanmar (Kachin and Shan States), where interlocutors considered their plight ignored. 56. Successive Governments have signed bilateral ceasefire agreements and a nationwide ceasefire agreement with various “ethnic armed organizations”. In parallel, since 2011, northern Myanmar has witnessed a sharp increase in fighting between the Tatmadaw and armed groups, in particular those excluded from or not signatories to the 11