Myanmar's armed forces launched military operations in 2017, forcing at least 730,000 people, mainly Rohingya Muslims, to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. Rohingya interviewed by Western media generally complained that they and their people faced killings, mass sexual assault and arson. Myanmar's military has been in power since a coup last year that overthrew a democratically elected government. Blinken said Washington was based on the State Department's factual assessment and legal analysis to conclude that the atrocities constituted a genocide crime, but the country's foreign ministry dismissed the report against unreliable and unpredictable sources and general allegations.