Hariri Calls for UN, Security Council Intervention to End Myanmar's Rohingya Suffering

Prime Minister Saad Hariri urged on Wednesday the United Nations and Security Council for an urgent intervention to end violence against the the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar.

“The tragedy of the Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar calls for a conscientious position of the International Community,” said Hariri in a tweet.

Persecution of the Rohingya, reviled as illegal immigrants and mostly denied citizenship in Myanmar, has been a lightning rod for anger across the Muslim world.

Nearly 125,000 mostly Rohingya refugees have crossed the border to Bangladesh in recent weeks, fleeing a security sweep by Myanmar forces who have been torching villages in response to attacks by Rohingya militants on August 25.

The refugee exodus has enraged many in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim majority country, and other states.

On Wednesday, at least five children were killed when several boats carrying Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to Bangladesh sank, Bangladesh border guards told AFP.