TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that the Islamic countries should take “practical steps” to end the “inhuman violence” against the minority Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

In separate phone conversations with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Zarif expressed deep concern over the catastrophic situation of the Rohingya in Myanmar.

The latest violence in Myanmar’s northwestern Rakhine state began on August 25, when Rohingya insurgents attacked dozens of police posts and an army base. The ensuing clashes and a military counter-offensive have killed at least 400 people and triggered the exodus of villagers to Bangladesh, Reuters reported.

The Muslim community had already been under a military siege in Rakhine since October 2016.

Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said on Monday the situation in Rakhine state was “really grave”.

Myanmar officials blamed Rohingya militants for the burning of homes and civilian deaths but rights monitors and Rohingya fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh say the Myanmar army is trying to force them out with a campaign of arson and killings.

NA/PA