Myanmar Govt permits UN to probe Rohingya abuse

The Myanmar Government granted permission to the United Nations inspection teams to assess dozens villages and townships in the country's Rakhine State, that were home to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims last year.

A total of four teams from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and UN Development Program (UNDP) will spend two weeks in the northern state where the Rohingya Muslims were allegedly murdered and subjected to imprisonment and sexual violence at the hands of the Myanmar military, CNN reported.

However, the country's military, who is known as the Tatmadaw, has repeatedly denied the mounting allegations.

According to UN spokesman Aoife McDonnell, the Myanmar government has given the UN teams to assess 23 individual villages and three other village wards at the weekend, while, the Inspectors began their initial work on Wednesday.

In June, the UN signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Myanmar in which the government agreed "to create the conditions for safe, voluntary and sustainable return while fostering social cohesion," Al Jazeera quoted McDonnell as saying.

Around 70,000 Rohingya fled the country and settled into Bangladesh, where they have sought refuge. Many of those who crossed the border have recounted horrific stories of being evicted from their homes by the Myanmar army.