The British government has said that it will suspend its military aid to the Myanmar military amid concerns about the treatment of Rohingya Muslims.
Speaking at the UN general assembly in New York, Prime Minister Theresa May said the UK would suspend £300,000 of funding until the current situation was resolved.
Violence in the Rakhine state has seen more than 125,000 Rohingya Muslims flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.
PM May said: “We are very concerned about what’s happening to the Rohingya people in Burma. The military action against them must stop.
“We have seen too many vulnerable people having to flee for their lives. Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese government need to make it very clear that the military action should stop.
“The British government is announcing today that we are going to stop all defence engagement and training of the Burmese military by the Ministry of Defence until this issue is resolved.”
The prime minister has been under pressure to halt the programme since the Myanmar army has been accused of carrying out a genocide against the Rohingya Muslims.
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British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson condemned the “barbaric” violence against the Rohingya community.
“I have spoken to [Ms Suu Kyi] several times since this whole disaster began, and it is barbaric what is happening to the Rohingya, there can be no doubt about it,” he stated.
“I think, what everybody wants, we want the killing to stop, number one, and that’s a message I’ve given her.”
