 |
Myanmar denies UN envoy access to Rakhine IDP camps
UN envoy Yanghee Lee is presently in Myanmar’s northwestern
Rakhine state to investigate the persecution of Rohingya Muslims by the
security forces.
UN envoy Yanghee Lee is presently in Myanmar’s Rakhine state
to investigate the alleged persecution of Rohingya Muslims who have been reportedly facing state-sanctioned killings and human rights abuses.
Lee has been in Myanmar for almost two weeks, and was
scheduled to visit camps for the internally displaced persons on Sunday. But
the government denied her access, citing safety concerns.
The northwestern Rakhine state of the country, formerly
known as Burma, is located along the border of Bangladesh and is home to most
of the country's one million Rohingya Muslims.
As many as 500,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh after
decades of persecution in Myanmar.
The United Nations says about 65,000 more people have moved
to Bangladesh since attacks that killed nine Myanmar border police on October
9, sparking a heavy-handed security response.
Residents and refugees say Myanmar troops and police have
carried out beatings, sexual assaults and extrajudicial killings, arbitrarily
arrested villagers and set fire to homes. http://www.trtworld.com/asia/hundreds-of-rohingya-muslim-houses-destroyed-in-myanmar-234556
Myanmar has denied almost all the allegations. http://www.trtworld.com/asia/myanmar-commission-denies-genocide-of-rohingya-muslims-267832