WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the United Stateswill continue to hold accountable those responsible for abhorrent ethniccleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

Pompeo issued this statement on twitter on the first anniversary of theconflict in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state that drove more than 700,000Rohingya from their homes into neighboring Bangladesh.

Mike Pompeo said the military must respect human rights for Burma’sdemocracy to succeed.

Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh held demonstrations and prayers tomark the anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict.

Thousands of refugees marched prayed and chanted slogans in events acrossthe sprawling camps in southern Bangladesh to commemorate the start of theRohingya genocide.

International pressure on Myanmar has been growing as U.N.-mandatedinvestigators are set to publish a report on the crisis tomorrow.

Meanwhile,the United Nations Security Council will hold a briefing onMyanmar on Tuesday.