Pope Francis demanded Thursday that the international community take "decisive measures" to resolve the causes of the mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, breaking his recent silence over what the United Nations has declared to be a textbook case of "ethnic cleansing." More than 620,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar and poured into Bangladesh refugee camps over the last few months amid a scorched earth campaign by Myanmar's military. The Rohingya crisis loomed large over Francis' arrival in Dhaka, where huge banners with pictures of the pope and Hamid dotted billboards around town. The country's leading English-language newspaper, The Daily Star, said in an editorial it felt "slightly let down" that the pope didn't mention the Rohingya crisis specifically while in Myanmar. "We remain hopeful that given Pope Francis' legacy of standing up for the oppressed, he will speak out against the ongoing persecution of the Rohingya during this very important visit," the paper added.

Source: ABC News November 30, 2017 04:15 UTC