UNITED NATIONS, United States: The UN Security Council on Wednesday expressed concern about excessive force used by Myanmar during its security operation in Rakhine state and called for "immediate steps" to end the violence. The unanimous statement followed a council meeting held behind closed doors to respond to the violence that has driven nearly 380,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee across the border to Bangladesh. The council condemned the violence and called for humanitarian aid workers to be able to reach those in need in Rakhine state. Ethiopian Ambassador Tekeda Alemu, who holds the council presidency, told reporters after the meeting that council members "expressed concern about reports of excessive violence during the security operations and called for immediate steps to end the violence in Rakhine." Guterres said the Myanmar government should either grant the Rohingya nationality or legal status that would allow them to live a normal life.

Source: Ethiopian News September 13, 2017 18:56 UTC