Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi delivers a televised speech to the nation at the Myanmar International Convention Center in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
The Associated Press
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar (AP) - The Latest on the violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state and the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to Bangladesh (all times local):
11:20 a.m.
Rohingya Muslims who fled violence in Myanmar are rejecting leader Aung San Suu Kyi's claims that many members of their minority group are safe.
Suu Kyi said Tuesday that most Rohingya villages weren't hit by violence. She invited foreign diplomats gathered in the capital for her speech to visit villages that were unaffected.
In the Kutupalong refugee camp in nearby Bangladesh, Abdul Hafiz says Rohingya once trusted Suu Kyi more than the military that ruled before her for half a century. Now he calls Suu Kyi a "liar" and says Rohingya are suffering more than ever.
Hafiz was angered by the implication that Rohingya who were driven from their villages were themselves responsible. He said if that's true, Suu Kyi should give international journalists more access to their destroyed villages. If Rohingya are proven wrong, he says, "we will not mind if the world decides to kill us all by pushing us into the sea."
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10:30 a.m.
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi is defending her country against international criticism over an exodus of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims by saying most of their villages remain intact, and that it's important to understand why conflict did not break out everywhere.
The Nobel Peace laureate's global image has been damaged by violence since Rohingya insurgents attacked Myanmar security forces on Aug. 25. More than 400,000 Rohingya have fled their villages, many of which have been burned. The government has blamed the Rohingya themselves, but members of the persecuted minority have said soldiers and Buddhist mobs attacked them.
Suu Kyi told foreign diplomats gathered in Naypyitaw that "more than half" of Rohingya villages were not affected by the violence. She invited the diplomats with visit those villages so they could learn along with the government "why are they not at each other's throats in these particular areas."
Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi delivers a televised speech to the nation at the Myanmar International Convention Center in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
The Associated Press
Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi delivers a televised speech to the nation at the Myanmar International Convention Center in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
The Associated Press
Supporters of the hardline Hefazat-e-Islam gather for a march towards Myanmar Embassy to protest against the persecution of Rohingya Muslims, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Sept. 18, 2017. Bangladesh has been overwhelmed with more than 400,000 Rohingya who fled their homes in the last three weeks amid a crisis the U.N. describes as ethnic cleansing. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad)
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Rohingya Muslims, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, stretch their arms out to collect food items distributed by aid agencies near Balukhali refugee camp, Bangladesh, Monday, Sept. 18, 2017. Bangladesh has been overwhelmed with more than 400,000 Rohingya who fled their homes in the last three weeks amid a crisis the U.N. describes as ethnic cleansing. Refugee camps were already beyond capacity and new arrivals were staying in schools or huddling in makeshift settlements with no toilets along roadsides and in open fields. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
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A Rohingya Muslim woman Sameeda Begum holds her daughter Zulakeha Banoo by the side of a road as she waits for her husband who got separated from them after crossing from Myanmar into Bangladesh, near Balukhali refugee camp, Bangladesh, Monday, Sept. 18, 2017.Bangladesh has been overwhelmed with more than 400,000 Rohingya who fled their homes in the last three weeks amid a crisis the U.N. describes as ethnic cleansing. Refugee camps were already beyond capacity and new arrivals were staying in schools or huddling in makeshift settlements with no toilets along roadsides and in open fields. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
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A Rohingya Muslim girl, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, waits for her mother as she takes shelter under an umbrella after collecting food aid as it rains in Balukhali refugee camp, Bangladesh, Monday, Sept. 18, 2017. Bangladesh has been overwhelmed with more than 400,000 Rohingya who fled their homes in the last three weeks amid a crisis the U.N. describes as ethnic cleansing. Refugee camps were already beyond capacity and new arrivals were staying in schools or huddling in makeshift settlements with no toilets along roadsides and in open fields. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
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Rohingya Muslim children, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, wait for their parents who had gone to collect food distributed by aid agencies in Balukhali refugee camp, Bangladesh, Monday, Sept. 18, 2017. Bangladesh has been overwhelmed with more than 400,000 Rohingya who fled their homes in the last three weeks amid a crisis the U.N. describes as ethnic cleansing. Refugee camps were already beyond capacity and new arrivals were staying in schools or huddling in makeshift settlements with no toilets along roadsides and in open fields. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
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A Bangladeshi man carries his belongings as as smoke rises from across the border in Myanmar, near Balukhali refugee camp, Bangladesh, Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017. Bangladeshi authorities on Sunday took steps to restrict the movement of Muslim Rohingya refugees living in crowded border camps after fleeing violence in Myanmar, while that nation's military chief maintained the chaos was the work of extremists seeking a stronghold in the country. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
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A Rohingya Muslim woman Lalmoti is carried to hospital by her son and grandson in Kutupalong refugee camp, Bangladesh, Monday, Sept. 18, 2017. Bangladesh has been overwhelmed with more than 400,000 Rohingya who fled their homes in the last three weeks amid a crisis the U.N. describes as ethnic cleansing. Refugee camps were already beyond capacity and new arrivals were staying in schools or huddling in makeshift settlements with no toilets along roadsides and in open fields. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
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A Rohingya Muslim, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, stands on a roadside waiting for food aid in Balukhali refugee camp, Bangladesh, Monday, Sept. 18, 2017. Bangladesh has been overwhelmed with more than 400,000 Rohingya who fled their homes in the last three weeks amid a crisis the U.N. describes as ethnic cleansing. Refugee camps were already beyond capacity and new arrivals were staying in schools or huddling in makeshift settlements with no toilets along roadsides and in open fields. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
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Supporters of the hardline Hefazat-e-Islam gather for a march towards Myanmar Embassy to protest against the persecution of Rohingya Muslims, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Sept. 18, 2017. Bangladesh has been overwhelmed with more than 400,000 Rohingya who fled their homes in the last three weeks amid a crisis the U.N. describes as ethnic cleansing. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad)
The Associated Press