New Delhi: In the wake of mounting condemnation of civilian in-custody deaths in the ongoing face-off between the Myanmar military and the armed group Arakan Army (AA) in the war-torn Rakhine state, the Tatmadaw, the national army, has formed a team to investigate such deaths.In a news report, The Irrawaddy stated that as per a statement issued by the Tatmadaw, “The relevant military command headquarters have formed a court of inquiry in accordance with Defense Services Rule 176.” It said the team began its work this past July 12.“An announcement from the Tatmadaw’s True News Information Bureau on Friday said the investigation will cover the death of “some civilians” while in detention, plus an investigation of civilian deaths related to the AA and AA-affiliated suspects in four townships in northern Rakhine state,” the news report said this past July 15.The military statement mentioned Panmayung village in Minbya township, Minthataung village in Kyautaw township, Lakka village in Mrauk-U township and Kyauktan village in Rathedaung township as areas where the civilian in-custody deaths had occurred. “However, the statement didn’t reveal the total number of the civilians that have died while detained and investigated.”Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun, the Tatmadaw spokesperson, told the newspaper that the teams formed to probe the deaths would record testimonies of soldiers involved in the cases besides hearing from witnesses “including the civilians from the villages involved.” Based on the evidence collected in each case, the course of further legal action would be taken. He said such probes “normally take a maximum of two weeks.”Arakan Army is a Rakhine-based armed group formed in 2009 which fights the Tatmadaw alongside the Kachin Independent Army (KIA), seeking self-determination of the Arakanese people. KIA has been one of the main forces behind supplying sustenance to various armed groups in Northeast India including providing the initial support to the Naga insurgency under Phizo in the 1960s.Early this month, a cross-section of people in Yangon criticised the Tatmadaw for the growing number of civilian deaths in the recent operations in Rakhine.Also Read: UN Investigator Reports Fresh War Crimes in MyanmarSo far this year, 14 civilian deaths in detention have been reported by local media. They were held by the army in suspicion of having a connection with the AA. In May, the spokesperson for the president’s office, U Zaw Htay, stated that 20 civilian deaths have occurred due to the fighting in Rakhine between January 1 and May 27. According to a July 22 report in The Irrawaddy, at least 70 civilians were injured in the last seven months.Activists, lawmakers and lawyers, among others, criticised the army for violating article 2 (b) of the Constitution, which states that no citizen can remain in custody for more than 24 hours without the permission of a court.Though the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission had been formed by the government in 2011, and re-formulated in 2014, to look into cases of rights violations in the war-torn country, it has continuously come under attack from rights activists for not able to challenge the military enough in terms of violation of civilian rights.