UN Secretary-General calls on Myanmar to suspend hostilities

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres does not rule out that "ethnic cleansing" is taking place in Myanmar. He stated this at a press conference at the United Nations on September 13.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks about the situation in Myanmar.

Responding to the question of whether the developments in Myanmar could be considered "ethnic cleansing", Mr. Guterres replied: "When one-third of the Rohingya have to leave the country, how else can we characterize the incident?"

Secretary-General Guterres called the humanitarian situation in the country "catastrophic" and called on "all countries to do everything they can" to provide humanitarian assistance to Myanmar.

The UN Secretary-General also called on the Myanmar authorities to suspend hostilities, comply with the rule of law, ensure the return of refugees, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Conflict in Rakhine state between the Rohingya and indigenous people, including relatives of Myanmar's original ethnic group the Birma and Buddhists, has existed for decades.

The escalation of the conflict began with the transfer of power in Myanmar from the military to the civilian government and the promotion of democratic reforms.

The military and security forces have been conducting a crackdown on militants since late August. The campaign began after militants coordinated attacks on several police stations and army barracks in Rakhine state on August 25.

The riots killed more than 400 people, and some 370,000 people fled to Bangladesh.

According to Sputnik