Dhaka/Yangon — The UN has appealed for help for nearly 400,000 Muslims from Myanmar who have fled to Bangladesh, with concern growing that the number could keep rising, unless Myanmar ends what critics denounce as "ethnic cleansing". The Rohingya are fleeing from a Myanmar military offensive in the western state of Rakhine that was triggered by a series of guerrilla attacks on August 25 on security posts and an army camp in which about a dozen people were killed. The UN has called for an intensification of relief operations to help the refugees, and a much bigger response from the international community. "We urge the international community to step up humanitarian support and come up with help," Mohammed Abdiker, director of operations and emergencies for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), told a news conference in the Bangladeshi capital. The need was "massive", he said. The violence in Rakhine and the exodus of refugees is the most pressing problem Nobel Peace la...
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