US says Myanmar repression of Muslim Rohingya is genocide

By BEN FOX
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the violent repression of the largely Muslim Rohingya population in Myanmar amounts to genocide. The declaration on Monday is intended to both generate international pressure and lay the groundwork for potential legal action. Authorities made the determination based on confirmed accounts of mass atrocities on civilians by Myanmar’s military in a widespread and systematic campaign against the Rohingya. It is the eighth time since the Holocaust that the U.S. has made the determination that a genocide has occurred.