Rohingya crisis: How we got here
Updated 0134 GMT (0934 HKT) November 13, 2017
(CNN)More than half a million Rohingya have fled violence in Myanmar's Rakhine State since August, pouring into Bangladesh with horrific stories of atrocities.
1057
First unified Myanmar state established at Bagan.
1430
Last Rakhine kingdom founded, with its capital in Mrauk U. Situated on the border between Buddhist and Muslim Asia, the city became one of Asia's richest. In 1785 it came under Burmese control.
1824-1948: British rule
The Muslim community in Rakhine expanded rapidly during colonial times, doubling from the 1880s to 1930s. Expanding rice cultivation required significant labor, largely filled by Muslim workers from neighboring Bengal.
1941-1945: World War II
Rakhine State was on the front line between the Japanese troops and allied forces. Muslims were mostly pro-British, while Rakhine Buddhists initially supported the Japanese.
1948
Shortly after Myanmar's independence from British rule, a Muslim rebellion erupted in Rakhine, demanding equal rights and an autonomous area. The rebellion was eventually defeated.
1962
Military rule begins. Rights that Rohingya had enjoyed before the coup were eroded. In 1978 and 1991, heavy-handed government campaigns pushed more than 200,000 Muslims across the border into Bangladesh.
1982
New citizenship law passed identifying 135 national ethnic groups. The Rohingya aren't one of them, effectively rendering them stateless.
November 13, 2010
Opposition leader and Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is released from house arrest.
June 2012
Religious violence leaves more than 200 dead and close to 150,000 homeless in Rakhine -- predominantly Rohingya. Violence flares again in October. Between 2012 and 2015, more than 112,000 Rohingya flee, largely by boat to Malaysia.
2014
Myanmar conducts first census in more than three decades but Rohingya are excluded.
November 2015
In the first democratic elections since end of military rule, Rohingya aren't allowed to participate as candidates, nor as voters. Suu Kyi's party wins and she becomes de-facto leader in a power-sharing agreement with the military.
October 9, 2016
About 300 Rohingya men attack border posts in Rakhine State, killing nine police officers, according to state media. The attacks spark an intense crackdown by the Myanmar military and trigger an exodus of 87,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh. Rohingya insurgent group, now known as Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), claims responsibility for the border post attack.
August 25, 2017
Myanmar's state media reports 12 security officers were killed by ARSA insurgents during a series of coordinated attacks targeting at least 20 police outposts and an army base in Rakhine State. Military responds with what they describe as "clearance operations," burning down villages and triggering a mass exodus of Rohingya to Bangladesh.
September 19, 2017
In a televised speech, Suu Kyi condemned any human rights violations but was widely criticized for failing to acknowledge the alleged atrocities by the military. Myanmar's military has repeatedly denied conducting atrocities, saying it is targeting terrorists.
October 23, 2017
More than 600,000 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Bangladesh after fleeing violence in Myanmar since August 25.
