UN court hearings into Rohingya genocide to resume

Netherlands: An international case accusing Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya ethnic minority returns to the United Nations’ highest court Monday amid questions over whether the country’s military rulers should even be allowed to represent the Southeast Asian nation.

Four days of public hearings at the International Court of Justice start Monday into Myanmar’s preliminary objections to the case that was brought by Gambia, an African nation acting on behalf of an organization of Muslim nations that accuses Myanmar of genocide in its crackdown on the Rohingya.

In August 2017, Myanmar’s military launched what it called a clearance campaign in Rakhine state in the country’s west in response to an attack by a Rohingya insurgent group. The campaign forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. — AP