UPDATE 2 - UN: Over 310,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh

ADDS WHITE HOUSE COMMENTS

By Bayram Altug

GENEVA (AA) - More than 310,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25, a UN spokesperson said Monday.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency in Geneva, Duniya Aslam Khan, a spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), said the number of Rohingya Muslims who had crossed the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh had reached 313,000.

Earlier Monday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein urged the Myanmar government to end the "brutal security operation" in Muslim-populated areas.

He said Myanmar's security operation in Rakhine state "seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing."

Separately, the German government has called on Myanmar to meet its responsibilities to end the humanitarian tragedy faced by the country’s Muslim minority.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert voiced great concern about the recent violence and human rights violations during a Speaking at press conference in Berlin on Monday.

“We are calling on the government of Myanmar to meet its responsibilities for all population groups of the country,” he said.

“And we are particularly expecting this from Nobel Peace Prize laureate and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi,” he added.

Seibert renewed Berlin’s call for all parties to the conflict to take steps toward a peaceful solution.

In Washington, the U.S. said it is "deeply troubled by the ongoing crisis", reiterating an earlier condemnation of an Aug. 25 attack on a Myanmarese security post "and ensuing violence.”

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world’s most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

Last October, following attacks on border posts in Rakhine’s Maungdaw district, Myanmar security forces launched a five-month crackdown in which, according to Rohingya groups, around 400 people were killed.

The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including infants and young children -- brutal beatings and disappearances committed by security personnel.

UN investigators said human rights violations constituted crimes against humanity.

Fresh violence erupted in Rakhine state more than two weeks ago when security forces launched an operation against the Rohingya community.

Bangladesh, which already hosted around 400,000 Rohingya refugees, has faced a fresh influx of refugees since the security operation was launched.