Treatment of Rohingya 'besmirching reputation' of Myanmar, Boris Johnson says

Violence against Rohingya Muslims is "besmirching the reputation" of Myanmar, Boris Johnson has said.

The Foreign Secretary's remarks follow reports by a human rights group that people - including young children - have been burned alive in the country, while others have been beheaded.

Soldiers and armed residents have been accused of carrying out a killing spree against Rohingya Muslim men, women, and children in Chut Pyin village, leaving more than 200 dead.

They have also set fire to "numerous" villages throughout northern Rakhine state in the last week, displacing tens of thousands, according to Bangkok-based watchdog Fortify Rights.

About 58,600 Rohingya civilians have left Myanmar, also known as Burma, and fled to neighbouring Bangladesh. Some have drowned while trying to make the journey.

Mr Johnson has expressed hope that Myanmar's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, will be able to use "all her remarkable qualities to unite her country, to stop the violence and to end the prejudice that afflicts both Muslims and other communities in Rakhine".

In a statement, he said: "Aung Sang Suu Kyi is rightly regarded as one of the most inspiring figures of our age but the treatment of the Rohingya is alas besmirching the reputation of Burma.

"She faces huge challenges in modernising her country... It is vital that she receives the support of the Burmese military, and that her attempts at peacemaking are not frustrated.

"She and all in Burma will have our full support in this."

The Buddhist-majority government has blamed militants from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) for burning down the homes, and also accused them of killing Buddhists.

Fortify Rights reported villagers armed with swords and knives hacked and beheaded Rohingya residents, including children, in Chut Pyin.

Soldiers reportedly arrested a large group of Rohingya men, marched them into a nearby bamboo hut and set it on fire, burning them to death.

A 41-year-old man called Abdul Rahman, who claimed he survived the attack, said his two young nephews had been beheaded.

He told Fortify Rights: "My brother was killed. (Soldiers) burned him with the group. We found (my other family members) in the fields.

"They had marks on their bodies from bullets and some had cuts. My two nephews, their heads were off. One was six years old and the other was nine years old. My sister-in-law was shot with a gun."

According to Fortify Rights, survivors from two other villages - Kyet Yoe Pyin and Ba Da Kha Ywa Thit - also described beheadings and throats being cut.

Residents from many other villages described arson attacks and soldiers opening fire on fleeing civilians, including children, the watchdog added.

The latest violence erupted over a week ago when the rebels attacked remote police posts, killing 15 officials.

The ARSA, who say they are defending the Rohingya from persecution by Myanmar, claimed responsibility for the security post assaults that sparked a large army counteroffensive.

The escalation in fighting has seen about 400 people killed in recent days and more than 2,600 houses burnt down.

The treatment of the 1.1 million Rohingya is the biggest challenge facing leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is accused by Western critics of not speaking out for a minority that has long complained of persecution.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Myanmar of "genocide" against the Rohingya, while UN chief Antonio Guterres has warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe in western Myanmar.