UN Rights Envoy to Probe Violence against Myanmar Muslims
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The United Nations said on Friday that its human rights envoy for Myanmar will probe escalating violence in the country, including a military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims, when she visits next week.
UN special rapporteur Yanghee Lee's 12-day trip, starting on Monday, will also take her to Kachin state, where thousands have been displaced by fighting between ethnic rebels and the army.
Intensifying clashes between Myanmar's military and ethnic minorities has undercut Aung San Suu Kyi's vow to bring peace to the country following her party's elevation to government last March, AFP reported.
The Nobel prize winner has also faced strong international criticism for failing to rein in a months-long military crackdown on Rohingya villagers in northern Rakhine State.
Areas of Rakhine have been in lockdown since October, sending tens of thousands of the Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh.
Lee has slammed the lockdown as "unacceptable" and called for an investigation into reports that troops have raped, murdered and tortured civilians from the Muslim minority.
"The last few months have shown that the international community must remain vigilant in monitoring the human rights situation there," Lee said in a statement on Friday.