Seyyed Hassan Khomeini denounces ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Myanmar Muslims

Seyyed Hassan Khomeini denounces ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Myanmar Muslims

The grandson of the late founder of the founder of the Islamic Republic has strongly denounced the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s northwestern state of Rakhine.

Seyyed Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Imam Khomeini in a post on social networking website Instagram shared a picture of a Rohingya child who was brutally killed in the anti-Muslim violence in the southeast Asian country.

Describing the violence in Myanmar as terrifying, the internationally-reputed scholar stressed that Rohingya in Myanmar have been subject to hatred just for being Muslims.

He went onto say that even the children, women and elderly people have not been spared of this violence which has been triggered by ignorance.

Myanmar's security forces have long been attacking Rohingyas and torching their villages since October 2016, in a bid to push them out of the western state of Rakhine. The attacks have been intensified since August 25, with State Counselor Aung San Suu Ky ignoring international demands to call off the operation.

Thousands of Rohingyas have already fled their homeland to take refuge in Bangladesh. Many people have been killed during the perilous boat journeys on the Naf River, which separates the two neighboring countries.

The refugees have also tried to cross the border into Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

The latest eruption of violence in Myanmar's western state of Rakhine has killed more than 400 people and triggered an exodus of the Rohingya to Bangladesh.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar are facing a risk of ethnic cleansing. According to the latest figures by the United Nations, nearly 125,000 refugees from Rakhine have fled to Bangladesh since violence escalated in late August, overwhelming existing camps for the displaced.

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