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Senators urge U.S. sanctions over Myanmar ‘atrocities’

By MATTHEW PENNINGTON, Associated Press
Published: September 28, 2017, 9:44am
2 Photos
Newly set up tents cover a hillock at a refugee camp for Rohingya Muslims who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, in Taiy Khali, Bangladesh, on Wednesday.
Newly set up tents cover a hillock at a refugee camp for Rohingya Muslims who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, in Taiy Khali, Bangladesh, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin) Photo Gallery

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress are sharpening their criticism of Myanmar’s crackdown that has forced nearly a half-million Rohingya (ROH’-hihn-jah) Muslims to flee to Bangladesh.

Republicans and Democrats want the Trump administration to consider sanctions against the perpetrators and to re-evaluate U.S. policy toward the Southeast Asian nation.

Twenty-one senators say in a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that there’s a risk of genocide against the Rohingya, who’ve fled en masse after Myanmar security forces responded to insurgent attacks.

The senators say that response has been “extraordinarily disproportionate.”

They say those responsible should be held accountable under international law and U.S. law that allows the president to punish rights violators in foreign countries.

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