This is in addition to the €12m announced in May to provide emergency shelter, water, food and health assistance for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and people in need in Myanmar.  

“The European Union remains committed to support those who are forced to flee their homes during these difficult times,” said Christos Stylianides, commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management.

Since 1994, the commission has provided €232m in humanitarian aid to Myanmar and Bangladesh and €153.6m in since 2007.  

Violence broke out at the end of August when militants attacked government forces in Myanmar after decades of ethnic tensions.

This lead to security forces starting a ‘clearance operation’ of the area where most of the Rohingya live, leaving at least 1,000 killed and more than 300,000 to flee to Bangladesh, according to the UN.  

UN human rights official Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said the treatment of the Muslim Rohingya group in Myanmar appears to be a “textbook example” of ethnic cleansing.

The minority group, which is not a recognised group, is described as the world’s most persecuted people and the government treats them as stateless.

“The EU continues to call for full humanitarian access and the respect for international human rights law in Myanmar," Stylianides said. 

"The immediate restoration of humanitarian assistance in northern Rakhine State is needed in order to address what is already a precarious humanitarian situation, and to avoid an escalation of the crisis,”