UN calls on Myanmar authorities to stop ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims

The UN Security Council has called on Myanmar to immediately stop the violence in the country against the Muslim minority Rohingya, who are fleeing en masse to Bangladesh, world media report, according to the Patria agency.

Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi has cancelled her attendance at the UN General Assembly due to international criticism she faces for doing nothing to protect Muslims in Myanmar, thus failing to justify her Nobel Peace Prize.

Following a closed-door meeting, the UN Security Council stressed the need for immediate humanitarian access to the Rohingya.

UN Security Council members call on the Myanmar government to adhere to its promises regarding humanitarian aid access to the Rakhine state, according to a declaration read by the current President of the Council, Ethiopian Ambassador Tekeda Alemu. The UN and NGOs have access to members of the Rohingya minority only in Bangladesh.

Almost 400,000 people have fled to Bangladesh since the end of August, fleeing the repression of the Myanmar army due to constant attacks on the Rohingya community rebels.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on the Myanmar government to stop the military operation and violence against the Rohingya, and stressed that the exodus of a third of the Muslim community's population constitutes ethnic cleansing.

In an open letter to the UN, a dozen Nobel laureates, including Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai, Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus, and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, have called on the UN to take action.

- We call on you to take decisive action to stop the violence against innocent civilians - wrote Yousafzai and a dozen other Nobel laureates, with British billionaire Richard Branson among the total of 29 signatories.

Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi cancelled her attendance at the regular annual session of the UN General Assembly after the UN recently confirmed that members of the Muslim minority Rohingya in Myanmar are victims of ethnic cleansing.