Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that the death of hundreds of Rohingya in Myanmar over the past week constituted a genocide aimed at Muslim communities in the region.Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has criticized the global community for remaining silent on the persisting violence against the persecuted Rohingya Muslims, calling for "crucial" action to end the acts of aggression against the minority group. “Global silence on continuing violence against Rohingya Muslims. Int’l action crucial to prevent further ethnic cleansing—UN must rally,” Zarif wrote in a tweet.
Nearly 400 people have died in fighting that has rocked Myanmar's northwest for a week, new official data showed, making it probably the deadliest bout of violence to engulf the country's Rohingya Muslim minority in decades.
"There is a genocide there. They remain silent towards this... All those looking away from this genocide carried out under the veil of democracy are also part of this massacre," Erdogan said at his ruling AK Party's Eid al-adha celebrations in Istanbul.
The army says it is conducting clearance operations against "extremist terrorists" to protect civilians.
Erdogan, with his roots in political Islam, has long strived to take a position of leadership among the world's Muslim community. He said it was Turkey's moral responsibility to take a stand against the events in Myanmar.
Around 38,000 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar, United Nations sources said, a week after Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts and an army base in Rakhine state, prompting clashes and a military counteroffensive.
Erdogan said the issue would be discussed in detail when world leaders convene for the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 12 in New York.Myanmar has been under fire by the international community and rights groups for its atrocities against the Rohingya.
Myanmar denies full citizenship to Rohingya Muslims, branding them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
The Rohingya have been subjected to summary executions, rapes, and arson attacks by security forces since October 2016, when the government used a deadly militant attack on border guards as a pretext to enforce a military siege in Rakhine state, the poorest region in Myanmar which is home to some 1.1 Rohingya Muslims. More than 18,000 Rohingya Muslims, mostly women and children, have been forced to flee their homes in Rakhine in less than one week due to violent clashes, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
“As of last night, 18,500 people have come across” from Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where they mainly reside,” said Chris Lom, the IOM’s Asia-Pacific spokesman, on Wednesday.
Lom suggested that the number could be significantly higher as many of the displaced people might not have registered with Bangladeshi authorities.
While thousands of Rohingya refugees have made it across the border with Bangladesh, many are thought to be trapped in an unoccupied zone between the country and Myanmar.
The exodus began on August 25 following intensified army operations after an attack allegedly committed by Rohingya militants.
