The media has “exaggerated” the number of Rohingya refugees fleeing an army crackdown, Myanmar’s commander-in-chief said Thursday, in a brash rebuttal of accusations of ethnic cleansing by his forces. Some 520,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar’s western Rakhine state since August 25, when the military launched a sweeping campaign against militants from the Muslim minority. The crackdown has been so intense that the UN on Wednesday accused Myanmar of trying to purge its entire Rohingya population. Half of Myanmar’s Rohingya have bolted over the last seven weeks, fleeing incinerated villages to join what has become the world’s largest refugee camp in neighbouring Bangladesh. But Min Aung Hlaing, who rights groups say carries personal responsibility for the crisis, insisted the Rohingya are merely returning to their motherland.

Source: Dhaka Tribune October 12, 2017 05:37 UTC