Why is it in news?

• The lack of humanitarian access granted by Myanmar’s government to Rakhine State, where more than half a million Rohingya Muslims have fled violence, is “unacceptable”: United Nations

 UN Concerns

• A small UN team visited the crisis-wracked region in majority Buddhist Myanmar in recent days and described witnessing “unimaginable” suffering.
• Myanmar has tightly controlled access to the State since last month when attacks by Rohingya militants prompted an army kickback that has sent about 5,15,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh. Scores of Rohingya villages have been torched.

‘Unfettered’ access

• The UN’s call for the government to allow “unhindered [and] unfettered” access.
• The UN has “substantial capacity” in Myanmar, which can be quickly deployed to northern Rakhine once clearance is granted he added.

Actual death toll

• A Myanmar official tally says hundreds of people died as violence consumed remote communities, including Rohingya.
• Hindus and ethnic Rakhine were also among the dead — allegedly killed by Rohingya militants.
• Rights groups say the real death toll is likely to be much higher, especially among the Rohingya, while the UN has labeled army operations as “ethnic cleansing” against the Muslim group.