Rohingya insurgents in Myanmar have declared a one-month unilateral ceasefire to ease the humanitarian crisis in the north of the country.
The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) said the truce was due to start on Sunday, and urged Mynamar’s army to lay down weapons as well.
The UN has appealed for urgent donations of £58m to provide for the influx of Rohingya, which has put a “massive strain” on existing camps. Bangladesh already hosts around 400,000 Rohingya from previous crises.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
News of the ceasefire comes amid mounting criticism of Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi over her handling of the crisis. Almost 300,000 Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since renewed violence between state security forces and the minority group began more than two weeks ago.
The Rohingya, frequently described as “the world’s most persecuted minority”, are a mostly Muslim ethnic group, who have lived in majority Buddhist Myanmar for centuries.
They claim the military and Rakhine Buddhists are waging a brutal campaign against them, burning their villages and deliberately forcing them to leave the country, but “the government says fleeing Rohingya set fire to their own homes to foment fear and anti-state anger”, reports The Daily Telegraph.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
The Week Unwrapped: Synthetic fuel, Myanmar and an energy rebatepodcast Could fuels made from CO2 and hydrogen end our dependence on oil? What’s happening in Myanmar? And will energy companies pay us to use less power?
-
Reader favourites
Speed Read A selection of short but sweet features from across The Week magazine
-
Home Office worker accused of spiking mistress’s drink with abortion drug
Speed Read Darren Burke had failed to convince his girlfriend to terminate pregnancy
-
In hock to Moscow: exploring Germany’s woeful energy policy
Speed Read Don’t expect Berlin to wean itself off Russian gas any time soon
-
Were Covid restrictions dropped too soon?
Speed Read ‘Living with Covid’ is already proving problematic – just look at the travel chaos this week
-
Inclusive Britain: a new strategy for tackling racism in the UK
Speed Read Government has revealed action plan setting out 74 steps that ministers will take
-
Sandy Hook families vs. Remington: a small victory over the gunmakers
Speed Read Last week the families settled a lawsuit for $73m against the manufacturer
-
Farmers vs. walkers: the battle over ‘Britain’s green and pleasant land’
Speed Read Updated Countryside Code tells farmers: ‘be nice, say hello, share the space’
