The small country of the West African Gambia has filed a lawsuit in the United Nations Supreme Court, formally accusing Myanmar of genocide against Rohingya Muslims.

It is initiated by the International Court of Justice, which usually decides on disputes between States.

Last year, the United Nations issued a condemnation report on the violence in Myanmar, saying that military leaders should be tried for genocide.

The Myanmar government denied that its troops had committed such crimes.

In 2017, in the military repression of this Buddhist-majority country, thousands of Rohingyas were killed and more than 700,000 fled to neighboring Bangladesh.

The UN's Independent International Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar said in August 2018 that the army's tactics were "grossly disproportionate to actual security threats" and that "military necessity would never justify killing indiscriminately, gang raping women, assaulting children, and burning entire villages.”

Myanmar rejected the report. It has always stated that its actions are aimed at the threat of militancy or rebellion.