In Pictures: Rohingya flee persecution in Myanmar

UN says the violence against Rohingya since August 25 has spiralled into the 'world's fastest-developing refugee emergency, a humanitarian and human rights nightmare.'

By Staff Reporter
A Rohingya Muslim refugee mourns beside the body of his child near Inani beach in Cox's Bazar district on September 29, 2017, a day after a boat carrying some 130 refugees capsized off Bangladesh. (AFP) / AFP

International condemnation has intensified over the plight of ethnic Rohingya Muslims after Myanmar's military operation since August 25 caused over 500,000 Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. 

Known as the world's most persecuted minority, the UN chief has called the army crackdown on Rohingya "a text book example of ethnic cleansing."

The current crisis has its roots in the violence eleven months ago in the northern Rakhine state – home to 1.1-million Rohingya Muslims – when armed attackers targeted police posts and snatched weapons sparking a brutal military operation that continues till today. 

Since August 25, according to the UN , a "wave of humanity" fleeing persecution in the Buddhist-majority Myanmar has reached Bangladesh.