UN Unlocks $7 Million to Aid Muslim Refugees Fleeing Myanmar

The UN emergency response fund CERF has released $7 million in aid to help tens of thousands Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar, UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said Thursday.

"These funds will immediately allow humanitarian partners to scale up urgent aid by providing additional shelter, food, critical health care and more to those who need our help so desperately," he said, Sputnik reported.

More than 60,000 people have fled fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine state to Bangladesh over the past fortnight, putting a strain on Bangladeshi basic services. The fund will bump up to $10 million the total amount of UN aid to this country.

Myanmar authorities have cracked down on Muslim insurgents after they attacked security posts in Rakhine last month. The Buddhist government has been accused of targeting villages of the ethnic Rohingya minority, an allegation it has denied blaming village fires on militants.