Cathal McNaughton/Reuters
Myanmar has engaged in crimes against humanity in the alleged ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in the country, Human Rights Watch declared Tuesday and called for the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions. Myanmar has consistently rejected accusations of such conduct, claiming instead that its forces are fighting terrorists who would kill civilians. The campaign by Myanmar has led to a mass evacuation to Bangladesh of at least 440,000 refugees, most of whom identify as Rohingya Muslims. “The Burmese military is brutally expelling the Rohingya from northern Rakhine State,” said James Ross, a legal and policy director at Human Rights Watch. “The massacres of villagers and mass arson driving people from their homes are all crimes against humanity.”