Bangkok Post, Dhaka :
Around 200 Rohingya Muslims fleeing a surge in violence after security forces took control of Myanmar’s Rakhine state last month are stranded at the Bangladesh border, community leaders said Tuesday.
The northen part of Myanmar’s Rakhine state has been under military lockdown for almost a month after deadly raids
on three police border posts. Bangladeshi border guards pushed back the Rohingya — mostly women and children — to the Myanmar side on Monday, community leaders told AFP.
“We heard they are 200 in number. They are mostly women and children who were only seeking a safe place to stay. They have no homes to go back,” one of the Rohingya leaders told AFP from a refugee camp in Bangladesh’s Teknaf border town.
A border guard spokesman put the figure at closer to 80.
Nearly 70 people have died in clashes with security forces since the Myanmar army swooped into Rakhine state, an area along the border with Bangladesh that is home to the Muslim Rohingya minority.
Violence escalated over the weekend, with troops killing more than 30 people in two days of fighting, according to the Myanmar army.
Activists say the actual toll could be much higher, accusing troops of killing civilians, raping women and torching homes — allegations the army denies.
Authorities have heavily restricted access to the area, making it difficult to independently verify government reports or accusations of army abuse.
The stranded Rohingya crossed the Naf River — which divides the two countries — by boats in the early hours of Monday and were immediately sent back by Bangladeshi border guards.
Around 200 Rohingya Muslims fleeing a surge in violence after security forces took control of Myanmar’s Rakhine state last month are stranded at the Bangladesh border, community leaders said Tuesday.
The northen part of Myanmar’s Rakhine state has been under military lockdown for almost a month after deadly raids
on three police border posts. Bangladeshi border guards pushed back the Rohingya — mostly women and children — to the Myanmar side on Monday, community leaders told AFP.
“We heard they are 200 in number. They are mostly women and children who were only seeking a safe place to stay. They have no homes to go back,” one of the Rohingya leaders told AFP from a refugee camp in Bangladesh’s Teknaf border town.
A border guard spokesman put the figure at closer to 80.
Nearly 70 people have died in clashes with security forces since the Myanmar army swooped into Rakhine state, an area along the border with Bangladesh that is home to the Muslim Rohingya minority.
Violence escalated over the weekend, with troops killing more than 30 people in two days of fighting, according to the Myanmar army.
Activists say the actual toll could be much higher, accusing troops of killing civilians, raping women and torching homes — allegations the army denies.
Authorities have heavily restricted access to the area, making it difficult to independently verify government reports or accusations of army abuse.
The stranded Rohingya crossed the Naf River — which divides the two countries — by boats in the early hours of Monday and were immediately sent back by Bangladeshi border guards.
