The Burmese government has signed an agreement with UN agencies to facilitate the voluntary return of Rohingya refugees.

Burma’s “ethnic cleansing” of Rohingya Muslims is continuing, a senior UN human rights official said on Tuesday, more than six months after insurgent attacks sparked a security response that has driven nearly 700,000 people into Bangladesh.

Burma and Bangladesh say they have agreed to work together to prevent illegal immigrants, terrorists and smugglers from crossing their mutual border.

About one-fifth of Burma’s political parties have raised their collective voice in opposition to matters both foreign and domestic, chiding UK lawmakers for what they deem undue criticism of the crisis in Rakhine State and panning proposed amendments to legislation on protesting that has been scrutinised for years.

Move comes after the killing of 10 Rohingya men in Inn Din who were buried in a mass grave after being hacked to death or shot by Buddhist neighbours and soldiers.

A Reuters investigation into the killing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma prompted demands from the US State Department for a credible investigation into the bloodshed there and calls for the release of two journalists who were arrested while working on the report.