The exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar’s western Rakhine state has created one of the world’s most urgent refugee crises and perhaps the most pressing humanitarian challenge to face Asia over recent decades.

Estimates suggest that as many as 600,000 have left Myanmar for neighbouring Bangladesh over recent months, following a military crack-down in the aftermath of attacks by Rohingya militant groups. Media commentary of the crisis has focused on allegations of ethnic cleansing, which have been strongly denied by Myanmar’s government, led by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy. However, both the deeper causes of the current problems and what now needs to happen to resolve the crisis remains little understood.

Image by AK Rockefeller on Flickr