Next Tuesday, the International Court of Justice in The Hague will hear a case brought by the Gambia accusing the Myanmar government of genocide against the Muslim Rohingya minority.

During the three-day hearings, the Gambia will ask the court to take "interim measures" to protect the Rohingya before the case is fully considered.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi is leading her government delegation to The Hague to defend her country's army, which launched a brutal crackdown on the Muslim Rohingya minority in 2017, prompting nearly 740,000 of them to flee to neighboring Bangladesh.

The following are the main milestones in this humanitarian crisis:

1- The invasion of Muslim villages
In August 2017, the Myanmar army launched an offensive against Rohingya villages in the northern Arkan state, and said the attack was in response to attacks by Rohingya gunmen on security posts that killed at least 12 policemen.

The army announced that it had killed 400 rebels. But human rights reports confirm that the majority of the victims are civilians. The United Nations reported at least 1,000 people killed in the first two weeks of military operations.

2- Escape from scorched earth
Eleven days after the attacks, more than 120,000 Rohingya crossed the border into Bangladesh, which is suddenly facing a massive wave of displacement. Many refugees reported violations by the army.

Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world, and had 200,000 Rohingya refugees before the new wave of displacement.

International anger escalated against Myanmar (ancient Burma). The fleeing refugees accused the army of burning their homes, while international leaders spoke of a possible "ethnic cleansing".

In her first official comment on the crisis, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi denounced "an enormous amount of misleading information" that, according to her, does not reflect the reality on the ground. She vowed to hold the wrongdoers accountable, but she refused to hold the army accountable.

3- An international condemnation of ethnic cleansing
The United Nations has stepped up its rhetoric against the Myanmar army and Buddhist militia, describing the atrocities against the Rohingya as a "classic model of ethnic cleansing."

On December 5, 2017, the former High Commissioner for Human Rights warned of possible "elements of genocide" in the case, and called for an international investigation.

In a report, Amnesty International condemned the "scorched earth policy" targeting the Rohingya Muslim minority. Based on satellite imagery, the NGO considered the attacks "planned, deliberate and systematic".

4- An agreement not implemented
Myanmar and Bangladesh reached on November 23, 2017 an agreement to start repatriating refugees to Myanmar.

However, the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that conditions were not conducive to a safe return, and the entire process was halted.

5- Blocking facts and imprisoning journalists
The international media or monitors are unable to reach the mandate of Arkan, which is surrounded by Myanmar security forces.

On September 3, 2018, a Myanmar court sentenced two journalists working for Reuters to seven years in prison accused of violating the State Secrets Act because of their coverage of the massacres against the Rohingya.

After 500 days in prison, they were released by presidential pardon on May 7, 2019.

6- International investigation and public pressure
On August 25, 2018, tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees organized protests on the first anniversary of their displacement.

A UN investigation has called for the prosecution of the Myanmar army chief and five other top commanders for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

On September 18, 2018 the International Court of Justice in The Hague announced the launching of a preliminary investigation into the crimes that the Myanmar army is accused of having committed against the Rohingya.

In November of the same year, an attempt to return 2,260 refugees failed with their refusal to leave the camps without security guarantees.

7- American sanctions against the military
On July 16, 2019, Washington announced sanctions against the Myanmar army chief and three other senior commanders for their role in "ethnic cleansing" in the Asian country.

On August 22, 2019, 3,500 refugees were supposed to be returned to their homes, but none of them appeared to take the buses and trucks waiting to return them amid widespread fears of a new crackdown.

On September 16, the United Nations said that about 600,000 Rohingya remaining in Myanmar faced "serious risks of genocide."

8- The escalation of legal prosecution
On November 14, the ICC judges authorized the opening of an investigation into alleged crimes committed in Myanmar against the Muslim Rohingya minority, including acts of violence and deportation that may constitute crimes against humanity.

The approval comes three days after the Gambia filed a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice accusing Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya.

In the same week, human rights organizations filed a third case against Myanmar under the principle of universal jurisdiction in Argentina.