Rohingya crisis: UN chief concerned over violence forcing 125,000 to flee to Bangladesh

Nearly 125,000 people fled Myanmar's Rakhine for Bangladesh since late August, prompting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' appeal to end violence against Rohingya Muslims.

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 6 Sept 2017, 06:18 AM
Updated : 6 Sept 2017, 07:38 AM

"I appeal to all, all authorities in Myanmar, civilian authorities and military authorities, to indeed put an end to this violence that, in my opinion, is creating a situation that can destabilise the region," he told the media in New York on Tuesday.

In a rare move, the UN chief has also written to the Security Council expressing his concern that the violence could spiral into a "humanitarian catastrophe with implications for peace and security that could continue to expand beyond Myanmar's borders."

“I have condemned the recent attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. But now we are receiving constant reports of violence by Myanmar's security forces, including indiscriminate attacks,” said Guterres.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas have fled the northwestern Rakhine state since violence broke out on Aug 25, when insurgents attacked 30 police camps and an army base.

The ensuing clashes and a military counter-offensive have killed at least 400 people.

The treatment of Buddhist-majority Myanmar's roughly 1.1 million Muslim Rohingya is the biggest challenge for its leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Replying to a query from the press on whether the violence can be described as ethnic cleansing, Secretary-General Guterres said, "We are facing a risk, I hope we don't get there."

The UN Security Council met behind closed doors last week to be briefed on the situation at the request of Britain, Reuters reported.

"If it continues to deteriorate then one of the things that we can do is to hold further meetings to shine a spotlight on the situation there," Britain's UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said on Monday.