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Half a million displaced in 'critical humanitarian crisis' in Myanmar

Author
Andrew McMartin,
Publish Date
Sat, 7 Oct 2017, 9:48AM
 The Rohingya have been called "the most persecuted people on the planet" in a new UN report.
The Rohingya have been called "the most persecuted people on the planet" in a new UN report.

Half a million displaced in 'critical humanitarian crisis' in Myanmar

Author
Andrew McMartin,
Publish Date
Sat, 7 Oct 2017, 9:48AM

A New Zealander overseeing United Nations efforts in Myanmar says a critical humanitarian crisis is unfolding.

Around 500,000 Rohingya people have fled the state of Rakhine, to seek shelter in Bangladesh.

A further 300,000 more have been displaced.

The Myanmar army launched a campaign against the Rohingyas in August after a rebel faction of the Muslim minority attacked government posts.

Former Labour MP Chris Carter is the UN official in charge of Rakhine State.

"People are arriving in Bangladesh with bullet wounds, people are exhausted, hundreds of villages have been burnt," he said.

Mr Carter thinks that aid agencies are being held back, saying it is up to the member states of the United Nations to "put diplomatic pressure on the Myanmar government."

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