Myanmar and its ally China will face mounting pressure after the World Court asked Naypyidaw to stop genocidal acts in Rakhine State, analysts said.

The UK government has welcomed the verdict of International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Myanmar and said the country must do more to protect the Rohingyas.

In a landmark ruling, the top court of the United Nations has ordered Myanmar to prevent acts of genocide against the country’s persecuted Rohingya minority and to stop destroying evidence.

ARMY OPERATIONS * On Aug 25, 2017, Rohingya militants attack police posts; a dozen officers killed

In ordering Myanmar on Thursday to take immediate measures to prevent atrocities against its Muslim Rohingya minority, the International Court of Justice in The Hague was handing down a binding ruling with no possibility of appeal - and no means of enforcement.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi says "war crimes" may have been committed against Rohingya Muslims but denied genocide, saying refugees had "exaggerated" the extent of abuses against them.

Made stateless by Myanmar in 1982, the Rohingyas have been left vulnerable to waves of violence at the hands of the Burmese army as part of a “clearing” programme that began in the 1970s.