UN: Over 310,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh

Over 310,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25, a UN spokesperson said Monday.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency in Geneva, a spokeswoman for the the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), Duniya Aslam Khan, said that the number of Rohingya Muslims who had crossed the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh had reached 313,000.

Earlier on Monday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein called on the Myanmar government to end the "brutal security operation" in the country's Muslim-populated areas.

He said Myanmar's security operation in the Rakhine state "seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing".

Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

Last October, following attacks on border posts in Rakhine's Maungdaw district, Myanmar security forces launched a five-month crackdown in which, according to Rohingya groups, around 400 people were killed.

The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including infants and young children -- brutal beatings and disappearances committed by security personnel.

In a report, UN investigators said the human rights violations constituted crimes against humanity.

Fresh violence erupted in Myanmar's Rakhine state more than two weeks ago when security forces launched an operation against the Rohingya community.

Bangladesh, which already hosted around 400,000 Rohingya refugees, has faced a fresh influx of refugees since the security operation was launched.