Global action needed to end massacre of Rohingya Muslims

Speaking to the source in Chittagong, a Bangladeshi port city where the first consignment of Iranian humanitarian aid for Rohingya refugees arrived on Friday, Abbas Vaezi highlighted the intensified crackdown on the Muslims in Myanmar.

The issue of persecution of Rohingya Muslims and Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar to Bangladesh is a historical one that has been repeated time and again in the past but this time it seems to be much worse, he said.

Vaezi noted that Myanmar army troops kill Muslim men, take women and children into custody and set fire to their homes.

He quoted a Rohingya NGO as saying that the Myanmar army set entire villages and towns on fire.

Vaezi said that, given the current conditions, Bangladeshi officials and others believe that in addition to humanitarian aid, there should be a global action with the participation of the United Nations, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and various countries, to help stop the crimes being committed against the persecuted minority.

The first consignment of Iran’s humanitarian aid for Rohingya Muslim refugees arrived in Chittagong on Friday afternoon.

The consignment, weighing around 40 tons, includes foodstuff and medical supplies.

The Rohingya, described as "the world’s most persecuted minority,” have been denied citizenship in Myanmar, which has effectively rendered them stateless.

Myanmar’s government has laid a siege to the western state of Rakhine, where the Rohingya Muslims are concentrated.

There, horrific violence, including killing, rape and torching property, has been taking place against the minority Muslims, according to reports and eyewitnesses.

Soldiers and extremist Buddhists have reportedly been killing or raping the Muslims and setting their homes on fire.

Myanmar's government says 400 people, mostly Muslims, have died in the latest bout of violence. The UN says the actual number likely tops 1,000.

So far, the global community has failed to take action against the "ethnic cleansing” of the Rohingya and to immediately demand an end to the atrocities.


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