UN ambassador to the UN calls for action on Myanmar
Nikki Haley called for weapons sales to be suspended and leaders punished, saying the violence appeared to be ethnic cleansing.
Friday 29 September 2017 12:14, UK
The US Ambassador to the UN has called on countries to suspend weapons sales to Myanmar, amid escalating pressure over persecution of its Rohingya minority.
The intervention is the first time the United States has referred to the ongoing violence against Myanmar's Muslim minority population as ethnic cleansing, or called for the punishment of military leaders involved in the conflict.
Nikki Haley spoke out as more than 60 people were presumed dead after a boat carrying more than 100 Rohingya attempting to flee the violence capsized in the Bay of Bengal.
Ms Haley told the UN Security Council: "We cannot be afraid to call the actions of the Burmese authorities what they appear to be - a brutal, sustained campaign to cleanse the country of an ethnic minority."
She added that the leaders involved in the violence "should be removed from command responsibilities immediately and prosecuted for wrongdoing".
It comes after an announcement by the UN that a planned visit to the site of alleged ethnic cleansing of Rohingya has been cancelled by the Myanmar government.
that more than 500,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar as the Burmese military continues a crackdown that witnesses and international monitors say includes rape, mass killings, and the razing of villages.
, Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday that violence against the Rohingya could spread from northern to central Rakhine, putting 250,000 people at risk of displacement.
He described the situation in Myanmar as the "world's fastest developing refugee emergency, a humanitarian and human rights nightmare".
Myanmar denies accusations of ethnic cleansing, and claims it is acting against a Rohingya insurgency. The current violence began after a series of attacks against Burmese military posts by armed groups.
Citing security concerns, the government has also stopped humanitarian agencies sending aid to the Rohingya, accusing them of helping insurgents.
The control has prompted public outcry from aid groups, who said they were "increasingly concerned about severe restrictions on humanitarian access and impediments to the delivery of critically needed humanitarian assistance".
The UK last week announced it would provided to Myanmar as a result of the ongoing crisis.