03 September,2017 10:10 AM IST | Ankara | Agencies
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday accused Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority, who have fled in the tens of thousands across the border into Bangladesh to escape ethnic violence
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday accused Myanmar of "genocide" against the Rohingya Muslim minority, who have fled in the tens of thousands across the border into Bangladesh to escape ethnic violence.
"There is a genocide there," Erdogan said in a speech in Istanbul during the Islamic Eid al-Adha feast, which commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. "Those who close their eyes to this genocide perpetuated under the cover of democracy are its collaborators".
Reports of massacres and the systematic torching of villages by security forces - as well as by militants - have amplified tensions, raising fears that communal violence in Rakhine is spinning out of control.
Erdogan said he would bring up the issue at the next UN General Assembly in New York later this month, adding that he had already talked to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other Muslim leaders.
Bangladesh already hosts 4,00,000 Rohingya and does not want more.
Food aid suspended in Myanmar
Yangon: The World Food Programme has suspended food aid in Myanmar's violence-scorched Rakhine State, as the humanitarian situation deteriorates with a surging death toll and tens of thousands - both Rohingya Muslims and ethnic Buddhists - on the move.
400
No. of people killed in the violence
