The world’s largest Muslim organization has called on Myanmar to allow United Nations investigators into Rakhine state where the military and Buddhist mobs are conducting “systematic brutality” against minority Muslims.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Tuesday censured the Myanmarese government for the violence, and said the OIC had to convene to discuss the crisis.
Myanmar’s military stepped up a crackdown on Rohingya Muslims on August 25, after dozens of police and border outposts in the northern state of Rakhine allegedly came under attack by an armed group that is said to be defending the rights of the Rohingya.
The UN estimates that nearly 400,000 Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh since late last month. Many of those who have managed to take refuge in the country say Myanmarese soldiers and Buddhist mobs have been attacking civilians and burning down their homes.
Myanmar’s forces have intensified attacks against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine since October 2016. The attacks have seen a sharp rise since August 25, following a number of armed attacks on police and military posts in the troubled western state. There have been numerous eyewitness accounts of summary executions, rapes, and arson attacks by the military since the crackdown against the minority group began.
The latest eruption of violence in Rakhine has killed more than 1,000 people, according to the UN.
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