Burma urged by U.S. to eliminate 2-child policy

WASHINGTONThe U.S. is calling on the government of Burma to stop the imposition of a two-child limit on a Muslim minority group that has been targeted in bloody communal unrest.

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said Tuesday the U.S. is deeply concerned about reports that authorities in two townships of western Rakhine State plan to enforce the limit on minority Rohingyas.

Ventrell says the U.S. opposes coercive birth limitation policies, and urges Burma, in his words, "to eliminate all such policies without delay."

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Islamic leaders have also expressed their dismay. Burma has been accused of discriminating against Muslims.

The Buddhist-majority country is also known as Myanmar.

• Burma's Suu Kyi slams 2-child limit for Muslims
• Burma leader Thein Sein warns he'll use force to stop religious rioting if deadly clashes persist
• Burma clashes leave 100 dead as Muslim Rohingya minority clashes with Buddhists, testing gov't reforms