UN names new coordinator to unblock aid for Myanmar

The United Nations on Tuesday named a new interim relief coordinator in Myanmar as the government continues to block demands that humanitarian workers be allowed to reach Muslim Rohingya in Rakhine state. Knut Ostby of Norway, who has worked for the United Nations in 17 countries including East Timor and Iran, will serve as the UN coordinator from November 1.
Since late August, more than 600,000 Rohingya have fled an army campaign in Myanmar's Rakhine state that the United Nations has denounced as ethnic cleansing. Myanmar authorities say the military operation is aimed at rooting out Rohingya militants who staged attacks on police posts in late August. The United Nations is urging Myanmar authorities to end the military campaign, grant permission to aid workers to reach those in need in Rakhine and allow the return of the Rohingya from Bangladesh.