The United States has described the ongoing violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar as “ethnic cleansing”, accusing the country’s forces of perpetrating “horrendous atrocities” against Rohingyas.
The statement on Wednesday from US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who visited Myanmar last week, is the strongest US condemnation yet of the military’s crackdown against the Rohingya, which has triggered a major refugee crisis and escalating global outrage.
The top US diplomat blamed Myanmar’s military and “local vigilantes” for what he called “intolerable suffering” by the Rohingya.
“After a careful and thorough analysis of available facts, it is clear that the situation in northern Rakhine state constitutes ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya,” Tillerson said in a statement.
Although Myanmar’s military has blamed alleged Rohingya-affiliated militants for setting off the crisis, Tillerson said that “no provocation can…