Asian leaders challenged on military rule in Myanmar

The United Nations chief has expressed alarm over the plight of Rohingya Muslimsinremarksbefore Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders from a south-east Asian bloc that has refused to criticise her government over the crisis.

UN Secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the unfolding humanitarian crisis could cause regional instability and radicalisation. He met with leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at the body’s summit in Manila. “I cannot hide my deep concern with the dramatic movement of hundreds of thousands of refugees from Myanmar to Bangladesh,” he said.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state since late August when the military launched “clearance operations”.