The United States is set to contribute $32 million worth of humanitarian aid to help the Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday.
The U.S. aid package — the first major response from the Trump administration to the situation in Myanmar — will include food, medical supplies, water and emergency shelter, along with other support.
Over the course of the past month, more than 400,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from Myanmar, where they face human rights violations and discrimination.
Rohingya militants attacked Burmese security forces in late August. Since then, analysts and rights workers say the Burmese military has carried out a brutal crackdown that has burned entire villages, and killed fleeing women and children.
Myanmar's de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has condemned the human rights violations taking place in western Rakhine state, but she has come under strong international criticism for not speaking out more forcefully on the situation. She canceled her appearance at the United Nations General Assembly this week in part to address the ongoing crisis at home.
She told a group of foreign diplomats in attendance that her country does not fear international scrutiny, and she offered her assurance that any human rights violations or “acts that impair stability and harmony” will be dealt with “in accordance with strict norms of justice.”
Aung San Suu Kyi insisted, however, that all “allegations are based on solid evidence before we take action.”
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, during a Tuesday speech before the General Assembly, said he was “shocked by the dramatic escalation of secretarial tensions” in Myanmar, and he called on authorities to “end the military operations” in Rakhine.
The State Department said the $32 million, which brings the total amount of U.S. aid provided to Myanmar refugees in the 2017 fiscal year to $95 million, will make up about a quarter of what human rights groups say will be needed to address the crisis. The remaining money is expected to be provided by other countries.
Read More US to Provide $32M in Humanitarian Aid to Rohingya Muslims : http://ift.tt/2xQy5fv
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