The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor has requested an international arrest warrant for Myanmar's military ruler over the persecution of the Rohingya minority.

Prosecutor Karim Khan's office stated on Wednesday that Min Aung Hlaing, head of the military regime that seized control of Myanmar in a 2021 coup, is accountable for crimes against humanity in connection with the treatment of the Rohingya.

The prosecutor's office has been investigating alleged crimes linked to the 2016-2017 violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state for the past five years. During that period, Myanmar's military carried out a brutal crackdown on Rohingya civilians, forcing at least 700,000 people to flee to Bangladesh amid reports of killings, torture, rape, and arson.

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From a refugee camp in Bangladesh, Karim Khan announced his intention to request more warrants for Myanmar's leaders, saying:

"In doing so, we will be demonstrating, together with all of our partners, that the Rohingya have not been forgotten. That they, like all people around the world, are entitled to the protection of the law."

The allegations arise from a counterinsurgency campaign initiated by Myanmar's military in August 2017 after an insurgent attack. Min Aung Hlaing, who leads the Myanmar Defence Services, allegedly directed the armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, and the national police to target Rohingya civilians.

Khan, while in Bangladesh, met with members of the displaced Rohingya population. Approximately one million Rohingya refugees, mostly Muslims, reside in Bangladesh, including around 740,000 who fled Myanmar in 2017.

Rohingyas face systemic discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where most are denied citizenship. Myanmar's government refuses to recognise the Rohingya as one of its 135 official ethnic groups, instead labelling them Bengalis to imply they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

The request for an arrest warrant will now be reviewed by a panel of three judges, who will evaluate the evidence and decide whether to issue a warrant.

There is no set timeline for a decision. An arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin was issued within three weeks in 2023, whereas warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister, and Hamas' military chief took more than six months after Khan submitted the request.

Myanmar has faced escalating turmoil since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government in February 2021. 

(With agency inputs)