Pope Francis begins risky Myanmar peace mission

Pontiff warned not to even say the word “Rohingya”

Pope Francis
Pope Francis 
(Image credit: Photo credit: VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images)

Pope Francis is walking a diplomatic tightrope as he embarks on a peace mission in Myanmar today amid claims the country is committing genocide.

An estimated 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from Buddhist-majority Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh since August following security operations by the Myanmar military. UN human rights official Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in September that the exodus was a “textbook example” of ethnic cleansing.

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