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Posted: 2019-11-15T10:09:19Z | Updated: 2019-11-15T10:09:19Z

THE HAGUE (Reuters) The International Criminal Court said on Thursday it had approved a prosecution request to investigate crimes against humanity against Myanmars Rohingya minority who were systematically driven across the border to Bangladesh.

More than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighboring Bangladesh since a 2017 crackdown by Myanmars military, which U.N. investigators say was carried out with genocidal intent. Buddhist majority Myanmar denies accusations of genocide.

However, the accusation of genocide, while within the jurisdiction of the court, will not be investigated by the ICC, a treaty-based body that is not supported by Myanmar.

Judges at the ICC, the worlds only permanent war crimes court, said that although Myanmar is not a member of the court, it has jurisdiction to examine alleged crimes that partially took place across the border in Bangladesh, which is a member.

In a statement, the ICC said prosecutors were granted permission to examine acts that could qualify as widespread or systematic crimes against the Rohingya, including deportation, a crime against humanity, and persecution on grounds of ethnicity and/or religion.

The ICC is now the second international court to look into alleged atrocities against the Rohingya, after Gambia on Monday filed a claim with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Myanmar for carrying out an alleged genocide against the Muslim minority. The ICJ is the United Nations top court for disputes between states.