Bangladesh, Sept. 29 -- The plight of the Rohingya has long stood as one of the most harrowing examples of ethnic persecution in recent history. Now, a new report by the United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) reveals how the Myanmar military not only drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya from their homes in 2017 but also enlisted private companies to erase their presence from the land entirely. The findings shed light on how business interests, state repression, and systematic violence merged in a campaign that rights groups say amounts to genocide.

According to the IIMM, at least nine private companies, including the powerful conglomerate Asia World Company, were contracted to demolish and redevelop vill...