Rohingya persecution in Myanmar (2016–present)

2016 Rohingya persecution in Myanmar

Location of Rakhine State in Myanmar
Date	9 October 2016 (2016-10-09) – January 2017
Location	Rakhine State, Myanmar
Type	Ethnic and religious persecution Ethnic cleansing Genocide
Theme	Military crackdown by Myanmar's armed forces and police on Rohingya Muslims
Cause	Attacks on Burmese border police posts by unidentified insurgents Historical mistreatment of the Rohingya by the government Existing tensions between Buddhist and Muslim communities
Outcome	Wide-scale human rights violations at the hands of security forces Mass displacement of refugees Forced relocations
Deaths	1,000+
Publication bans	Media access in northern Rakhine State heavily restricted by the Burmese government.

The 2016 Rohingya persecution in Myanmar occurred in late 2016 when Myanmar's armed forces and police started a major crackdown on Rohingya people in Rakhine State in the country's northwestern region. The crackdown was in response to attacks on Burmese border posts in October 2016 by unidentified insurgents. The Burmese military have been accused of ethnic cleansing and genocide by various United Nations agencies, International Criminal Court officials, human rights groups, journalists, and governments including the United States. The United Nations has found evidence of wide-scale human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, gang rapes, arson and infanticides, which the Burmese government dismisses as "exaggerations".

The military crackdown on the Rohingya people has drawn criticism from the United Nations (which cited possible "crimes against humanity"), the human rights group Amnesty International, the U.S. Department of State, the government of neighboring Bangladesh, and the government of Malaysia (where many Rohingya refugees have fled). The Myanmar leader and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has particularly been criticized for her inaction and silence over the issue and for doing little to prevent military abuses.