Nearly 600,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar in past eight weeks, UN says

The U.N says 589,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh in the last eight weeks, including nearly 7,000 admitted to the latter country Friday after spending up to four days stranded at the border.

U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq says humanitarian officials report that thousands more Rohingya refugees are believed to be on their way.

He adds that just over half are staying at a large site called the Kutupalong Expansion, where the U.N.'s partners are working with Bangladeshi authorities to improve road access, infrastructure and basic services.

A conference seeking to mobilize resources for Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence will take place Monday in Geneva. It calls for $434 million to help 1.2 million people through February 2018.