More than 620,000 Rohingya have crossed the border into Bangladesh since August, running from a military crackdown that Washington said this week clearly constituted ethnic cleansing. Extremist nationalist movements insist the group are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, although the Rohingya say they are native to Rakhine state. Rights groups accuse Myanmar authorities of ethnic cleansing, systematically forcing Rohingya from the country through violence and persecution, a charge the government has denied. The Rohingya have been the target of communal violence in mainly Buddhist Myanmar for years. The Myanmar government has blocked visas for a UN-fact finding mission tasked with investigating allegations of military abuse.

Source: The Guardian November 23, 2017 13:12 UTC