UN should press Myanmar to ensure Rohingya aid: HRW

The United Nations should press the Myanmar government to urgently allow aid to reach the ethnic Rohingya Muslims at risk in the Rakhine State of Myanmar, Human Rights Watch said today.

UN, other multilateral organisations and influential countries should also ensure that adequate assistance reaches the more than 270,000 Rohingya and other refugees who have recently fled to Bangladesh, it said in a press release.

"The humanitarian catastrophe that Burma's security forces have created in Rakhine State has been multiplied by the authorities' unwillingness to provide access to humanitarian agencies," said Philippe Bolopion, deputy director for global advocacy at Human Rights Watch.

"The United Nations, Asean, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation need to ramp up the pressure on Burma and provide more assistance to Bangladesh to promptly help Rohingya and other displaced people."

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh told Human Rights Watch that Burmese government security forces had carried out armed attacks on villagers, inflicting bullet and shrapnel injuries, and burned down their homes.

The killings, shelling, and arson in Rohingya villages have all the hallmarks of a campaign of "ethnic cleansing," Human Rights Watch said.

International aid activities in much of Rakhine State have been suspended, leaving approximately 250,000 people without food, medical care, and other vital humanitarian assistance.

Refugees told Human Rights Watch that while many people from Maungdaw Township could escape to Bangladesh, tens of thousands of displaced Rohingya are still hiding in the areas surrounding Rathedaung and Buthidaung Townships.