Intl court opens preliminary probe into Rohingya expulsions

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor says she is launching a preliminary investigation into deportations of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar into Bangladesh.

Fatou Bensouda said in a statement Tuesday that she has begun a probe formally known as a preliminary examination to establish if there is enough evidence to merit a full-blown investigation.

Bensouda says she will look at reports of “a number of alleged coercive acts having resulted in the forced displacement of the Rohingya people, including deprivation of fundamental rights, killing, sexual violence, enforced disappearance, destruction and looting.”

Myanmar’s military has been accused of widespread rights violations, including rape, murder, torture and the burning of Rohingya villages — leading about 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh since August last year.