Bangladesh PM says government will continue to help Rohingya

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says her government will continue to support nearly 1 million Rohingya Muslims who have fled neighboring Myanmar to escape violence.

Hasina says the government is pursuing a plan to build temporary shelters for them on an island with the help of international aid agencies.

She made the statement on Saturday at Dhaka airport on her return from New York after attending the U.N. General Assembly session. The U.N. has described the violence in Myanmar as "ethnic cleansing."

More than 500,000 Rohingya Muslims have crossed over to Bangladesh since late August, when Myanmar security forces responded to militant attacks with a broad crackdown that witnesses and rights groups say has included killing and arson. An equal number of Rohingya Muslims have previously fled Myanmar since 1978.