Myanmar repression of Muslim Rohingya is genocide, says US

Ethnic Rohingya women and children sit by a fire on a beach after their boat was stranded on Idaman Island in East Aceh, Indonesia (Zik Maulana/AP)

Violent repression of the largely Muslim Rohingya population in Myanmar amounts to genocide, US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said.

The declaration is intended to both generate international pressure and lay the groundwork for potential legal action.