(AP photo)UNITED NATIONS: Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it is "an absolutely essential priority" to stop all violence against Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims, allow them to return to their homes, and grant them legal status. Buddhist-majority Myanmar doesn't recognise the Rohingya as an ethnic group, insisting they are Bengali migrants from Bangladesh living illegally in the country. The latest violence began with a series of attacks Aug 25 by Rohingya insurgents. Myanmar security forces responded with a scorched-earth campaign against Rohingya villages that the UN and human rights groups have criticised as a campaign of ethnic cleansing. It was the strongest council pronouncement on Myanmar in nearly 10 years, and reflected widespread international concern at the plight of the Rohingya.

Source: Bangkok Post November 11, 2017 06:22 UTC