The UN is alarmed by Myanmar's deadly airstrikes against Rohingya Muslims
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is "dismayed" by reports of ongoing airstrikes in Myanmar that have killed more than 20 civilians in Minbya township in the Muslim-majority state of Rakhine on Monday.
A UN spokesperson said: " The escalation of conflict in Rakhine State (which is predominantly Muslim) is causing displacement and exacerbating pre-existing vulnerabilities and discrimination."
There have been violent clashes in Myanmar's western Rakhine state following what the government says are "attacks" on security forces in November, which marked the end of the most widely observed ceasefire since a military coup in 2021 .
The spokesperson added that the Secretary General calls on all parties to prevent further incitement of communal tensions,"
Monday's airstrike hit the Muslim-majority village of Thar Dar after a warplane dropped bombs, killing 10 men, four women and 10 children.
The Muslim minority Rohingya have been persecuted in Buddhist-majority Myanmar for decades. About one million of them have fled their homes following the military-led genocide in 2017 .
About a million Rohingya refugees currently live in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district, which shares a border with Myanmar, while many asylum seekers are scattered in neighboring countries such as India .
Military leaders in Myanmar claim that the Muslims of the Rohingya community are foreign citizens and have refused to grant them citizenship .
