U.N. rights envoy visits Myanmar amid border violence, report of abuse

U.N. human rights envoy Yanghee Lee has arrived in Myanmar on a 12-day visit amid growing concern about reports of abuse of members of the Rohingya Muslim minority in a government security crackdown.

 

 

U.N. human rights envoy Yanghee Lee has arrived in Myanmar on a 12-day visit amid growing concern about reports of abuse of members of the Rohingya Muslim minority in a government security crackdown.

Since October, at least 86 people have been killed and the United Nations says about 34,000 civilians have fled across the border to Bangladesh.

Residents and refugees accuse the military of killing, raping and arbitrarily detaining civilians while burning villages in northwestern Rakhine State.

However, increasing violence in border regions has raised questions about SuuKyi’s commitment to human rights and ability to rein in the military, which retains a major political role.

The government has restricted aid to northern Rakhine State, where most people are Rohingya Muslims denied citizenship in Myanmar, and prevented independent journalists from visiting.