US announces additional $180M in humanitarian aid for Rohingya

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US announced Wednesday that it will provide an additional $180 million in humanitarian aid to assist Rohingya in Myanmar, Bangladesh and the wider region.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US's UN envoy, announced the new assistance during the UN's 76th General Assembly. It raises US assistance since August 2017 to over $1.5 billion.

That year, nearly three-quarters of a million Rohingya Muslims were forced to flee their homes in Myanmar amid a military onslaught that has been classified as ethnic cleansing by the US.

Nearly all US funding -- $1.2 billion -- has gone towards aiding Rohingya in Bangladesh, where over a million have sought refuge during the four-year crackdown in neighboring Myanmar.

"The United States recognizes the challenges and responsibilities that the response has placed on the people and Government of Bangladesh, and we underscore the continued commitment of the international community to addressing and resolving this crisis," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

"In the aftermath of Burma’s February 1 military coup d'état and brutal military crackdown, our commitment to the people of Burma, including Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as members of other ethnic and religious minority groups, remains unwavering. We will continue to support Bangladesh and other countries that have made the humanitarian gesture to receive refugees from Burma," he added, referring to another name for Myanmar.