'The international community must hold the Myanmar military to account,' UN fact-finding mission chair says.

Axar.az reports citing AA that a UN fact-finding mission on Myanmar said Thursday that the military's use of rape and other forms of sexual violence is so routine it "reflects a widespread culture of tolerance towards humiliation."

The mission said in its 61-page report that Myanmar's military must end the practice, which it said is employed to terrorize ethnic minorities in multiple states.

It found that in Rakhine state, home to the country's Rohingya Muslim minority, the practice of employing sexual violence was so widespread during what the government called "clearance operations" in 2017 that it was a factor in determining Myanmar's intent to commit genocide against the ethnic group.

Women and girls were targeted in the majority of assaults cataloged by the report. In addition to being beaten, burned with cigarettes and cut with knives, the report says Myanmar's military, known as the Tatmadaw, raped and held women and girls as sexual slaves on military bases.