"I don't know how to thank the US. We are people who suffered a lot of agony," says a Rohingya refugee at a Bangladesh camp.

"A million thanks to the US. God be praised. We're grateful that they supported us, even though a bit delayed, by recognising it as genocide," says another refugee.

The United States officially declared Monday that violence against the Rohingya committed by Myanmar's military amounted to genocide, saying there was clear evidence of an attempt to "destroy" the Muslim minority. Myanmar's junta on Tuesday said it "categorically rejects" the US declaration.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar following the 2017 crackdown, which is now the subject of a genocide case at the United Nations' highest court in The Hague.