A large plume of smoke is seen on the Myanmar side of the border from Teknaf, Bangladesh. Nearly 400,000 Rohingya Muslims from western Myanmar have crossed into Bangladesh since August 25, fleeing a Myanmar government offensive against insurgents that the United Nations has branded a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing". Bangladesh said Myanmar drones and helicopters had violated its air space three times - on September 10, 12 and 14 - and it had called in a top Myanmar embassy official in Dhaka to complain. A Myanmar government spokesman said he did not have information about the incidents Bangladesh had complained about but Myanmar had denied an earlier accusation. Bangladesh has for decades faced influxes of Rohingya fleeing persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where the Rohingya are regarded as illegal migrants and denied citizenship.

Source: Otago Daily Times September 16, 2017 03:45 UTC