UN , Burma events , characteristics , genocide
A senior UN official warned Monday that the crackdown on the Rohingya Muslims in Burma "bears the hallmarks of genocide" and stressed the need to hold the Burmese government accountable.
Some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims from Rakhine state have fled to neighboring Bangladesh since August because of military operations the United Nations said amounted to "ethnic cleansing".
The fleeing Rohingya recounted testimonies of many of them being killed, burned and raped by members of the army and allied armed gangs.
UN expert: Burma events have characteristics of genocide
Burma denies the charges and says it was responding to the Rohingya Rescue Army attacks in Arakan at the end of August. Burma treats the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and refuses to grant them citizenship and deprive them of their basic rights.
On Monday, UN Special Rapporteur Yang Li said before the Human Rights Council, "I am more convinced that crimes have been committed and bear the hallmarks of genocide, and I call in the strongest terms to hold those responsible accountable.
source[Modificato da birs 26/03/2018 15:20]