Washington:  The United States called the Myanmar military operation against the Rohingya population ‘ethnic cleansing’ on Wednesday and said it would consider targeted sanctions against those responsible, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement.

Referring to ‘horrendous atrocities’ that have occurred, Tillerson said, ‘After a careful and thorough analysis of available facts, it is clear that the situation in northern Rakhine state constitutes ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya.’