World leaders criticize Suu Kyi over Rohingya issue

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi is facing mounting international pressure for her handling of violence in Rakhine state and the Rohingya refugee crisis. In a speech on Tuesday, Myanmar's de facto leader condemned rights abuses but did not blame the army or address allegations of ethnic cleansing.

Leaders and diplomats from several countries have since expressed strong disappointment with her stance. More than 400,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since late August. The latest unrest in troubled Rakhine was sparked by deadly attacks on police stations across the state last month, blamed on a newly emerged militant group, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa).

Scores of people were killed in an ensuing military crackdown and there are widespread allegations of villages being burned and Rohingya being driven out.

The Rohingya, a mostly Muslim minority, are denied citizenship by the Myanmar government, which says they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. It refers to them as Bengali Muslims. The Burmese military says its operations in Rakhine are aimed at rooting out militants, and has repeatedly denied targeting civilians. Witnesses, refugees and journalists have contested this.

Late on Tuesday, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina renewed her call for Myanmar to take back the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who have fled to her country. "We have told Myanmar, they are your citizens, you must take them back, keep them safe, give them shelter," she told the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

She said the Rohingya were facing an "unbearable human catastrophe". Bangladesh also denies Rohingya have any right to settle on its soil - and has been criticised for not doing more to help in the crisis. In a phone call, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Ms Suu Kyi that he welcomed her statement that refugees would be able to return once verified.

But he urged her to facilitate humanitarian aid and "address deeply troubling allegations of human rights abuses and violations", the state department said.

-BBC