JAKARTA: The UN human rights chief warned on Monday that possible acts of "genocide and ethnic cleansing" against Myanmar?s
Rohingya Muslim minority
could fuel a religious-based
conflict that spreads beyond the country?s borders.
"Myanmar faces a very serious crisis -- with a potentially severe impact on the security of the region," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra?ad Al Hussein said during a speech in Jakarta.
His remarks follow the publication of a report last week about mass graves of
Rohingya in Myanmar?s crisis-hit Rakhine state, where government troops have been accused of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against the minority.
Nearly 700,000
Rohingya have fled to bordering Bangladesh since last August. Myanmar denied the mass grave report and wider allegations of rights abuses, saying it launched a proportionate crackdown on
Rohingya rebels.But it has blocked reporters and UN investigators from independently accessing the
conflict zone and investigating refugee claims about a genocide. Zeid on Monday said Myanmar had enjoyed strong growth including a focus on socio-economic development in the Rakhine region, but that this
could not mask "institutionalised discrimination" against the minority.
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