Explainer: Years of strife for Rohingya grew into crisis

A military crackdown against the Rohingya ethnic group has driven hundreds of thousands of men, women and children from their homes in Myanmar.

The Rohingya have faced violence and discrimination in the majority-Buddhist country for decades but are now fleeing in unprecedented numbers from violence the U.N. human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, has called "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing."

Here's how an old and bitter dispute has become even more charged.

Who are the Rohingya?

The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic group that practices a form of Sunni Islam and have lived in Rakhine, one of Myanmar's poorest states, for generations. Before the latest exodus, an estimated 1 million Rohingya lived there, but even then they were a minority.

Some trace their origins to the 15th century. According to the Council on Foreign Affairs: Rohang derives from "Arakan," (now Rakhine state) and ga or gya means "from" in their dialect

But Myanmar sees them as immigrants, making them one of the largest stateless groups in the world.

Violence against the Rohingya is part of a "longstanding pattern of violations and abuses; systematic and systemic discrimination; and policies of exclusion and marginalization" that have persisted for decades, the U.N. says.

Discriminatory laws

Since a 1962 coup in Myanmar, successive governments have significantly limited the rights of the Rohingya.

A law passed in 1982 denied them citizenship. This limited their access to schools and health care and their ability to move in and out of the country. Rakhine state at times has enforced a two-child limit on Rohingya families and has restricted interfaith marriage.

Waves of violence

Tensions in Rakhine have often erupted into violence over the decades, prompting people to seek refuge in Bangladesh and Pakistan. The response from world leaders has been limited.

In October, an armed Rohingya insurgency came to light when militants attacked three border guard posts. Myanmar's army and the police then killed hundreds, gang-raped women and girls, and forced as many as 90,000 Rohingya from their homes.

The latest bloodshed

On Aug. 25, Rohingya insurgents attacked again, targeting police and an army base. Forces cracked down on the wider population, and rights groups accused them of killing, raping and burning villages. The exodus into Bangladesh began: More than 370,000 fled.

Myanmar has halted humanitarian aid to Rakhine.

Governments from predominantly Muslim countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey, are concerned. Malala Yousafzai and Bishop Desmond Tutu have called on fellow Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's de factor leader, to do something.

Analysts say it would be difficult for her to denounce the crackdown, given the military's political power.

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On Wednesday, the government said Suu Kyi would skip this week's U.N. General Assembly in order to address domestic security issues. The second vice president will attend instead.