Almost 40,000 Rohingya refugees forced to flee Myanmar

Violence in Myanmar or Burma is forcing tens of thousands of people in the Rohingya Muslim minority to flee with nothing but stories of rape, murder and persecution.

The Burmese army claims most of the 400 people it says have been killed this week are insurgent fighters. Human rights groups say civilians are being targeted in “mass atrocity crimes”.

The UN estimates 38,000 Rohingya have fled from Myanmar into Bangladesh, and thousands more are massed on the border. Journalists and even the UN are not allowed to travel freely in Rohingya areas of Rakhine state