WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – According to the US State Department's spokeswoman, Rex Tillerson called on Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing to "urge Burma's security forces to support the government in ending the violence in Rakhine State and allowing the safe return home of those displaced during this crisis, especially the large numbers of ethnic Rohingya."
Tillerson expressed concerns about the "continuing humanitarian crisis and reported atrocities" and asked the commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s armed forces to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to those displaced by the two-month conflict.
READ MORE: ‘They Will Have an Impact’: Human Rights Watch on US Sanctions Against Myanmar
The top US diplomat condemned the August attack by Muslim insurgents on security forces in Rakhine, which prompted a military operation leading to dozens of deaths and hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh.
Human Rights Watch reported that since August 288 out of 866 villages were completely or partially burned out in the western state of Rakhine.
Multiple Rohingya Muslim villages burning shows Myanmar army's ethnic cleansing in action. Total 288 villages burned https://t.co/GqKYSA4yd3 pic.twitter.com/mhWbLvF6UZ
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) 17 октября 2017 г.
On August 25, Myanmar's military launched a large-scale operation against militants from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, who organized a synchronized attack on border posts, police stations and military units in Rakhine State.
