Staff Reporter :
Rohingya refugees from Myanmar continued to pour into Bangladesh with many drowned after boats sank during their bid to flee violence that killed over 420 people and displaced tens of thousands.
At least 63 Rohingya refugees, mostly children and women, found dead on Bangladesh shore in the last two weeks.
Cxbcoordination.org, the portal managed by International Organization for Migration (IOM) for better coordination of humanitarian response in Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday said about 146,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state until Wednesday, almost two weeks after insurgents attacked police posts and an army base, prompting a brutal military counteroffensive and clashes.
They are passing their days in great misery for want of shelter, food and drinking water at many points of no man’s land area.
On Wednesday, at least eight bodies, including five children of Rohingya refugees, were recovered after a boat capsized in Naf River in Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar district. With the latest incident, the death toll from the boat capsize rose to 63.
“A boat carrying Rohingyas sank in the Naf River at Shah Pori Dwip at about 3:00am on Wednesday,” Mohammad Mainuddin Khan, Officer-in-Charge of Teknaf Police Station told journalists yesterday, saying some managed to swim ashore but many of them are still missing.
Five children, aged between 6 and 7, washed up dead on the Bangladesh shore, he said. “Locals reported to police after they found the children floating on the river on Wednesday morning.”
Hundreds of Rohingyas were seen entering Bangladesh by 15 to 20 boats each carrying 25 to 30 Rohingyas at Shamlapur bazar in Baharchhara Union in Teknaf.
Besides, many Rohingya refugees have been missing since Tuesday after a group crossed the river Naf that separates Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Those who managed to enter Bangladesh sought shelter in refugee camps or people’s homes.
Although many of those on board could swim and were able to reach the river bank, seven people remain missing.
They scrambled over barbed wire fences on as the border guards tried to stop them. Thousands of refugees have been trapped in no man’s land since August 25.
Those who could not cross, including many women and children, are spending rainy night and days under the open sky at many points of no man’s land.
Rohingya residents and human rights groups accuse the military and border guard forces of raping Rohingya women, torching houses and killing civilians during operations
As many as 400 people have been reported dead in fighting that has rocked the country’s northwest, according to latest official figures.
On Wednesday, Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi blamed “terrorists” for “a huge iceberg of misinformation” on the violence but did not say anything about the Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh since late August.
The leader of Buddhist-majority Myanmar has come under pressure from countries with Muslim populations over the crisis, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday warned of the risk of ethnic cleansing and regional destabilisation.
In a rare letter expressing concern that the violence that has raged for nearly two weeks in the northwestern state could spiral into a “humanitarian catastrophe”, Guterres urged the UN Security Council to press for restraint.
Barefoot and running for her life, Rohingya Dilara, 20, reached Bangladesh in recent days clutching her young son, her family torn apart by violence in Myanmar.
“My husband was shot in the village. I escaped with my son and in-laws,” said Dilara as she trudged on mud-caked feet into Kutupalong refugee camp on Friday. “We walked for three days, hiding when we had to. The mountain was wet and slippery and I kept falling.”
Dilara lost track of her in-laws during the journey and followed her fellow villagers to the camp. “I don’t know where I am … I just knew to run to save my life,” she said in a daze, carrying her 18-month toddler and nothing else.
With nowhere to go, many of the new arrivals are being directed to the existing refugee camps that were established in the 1990s.
Many are hungry, in poor physical condition and in need of life-saving support.
UNHCR is gravely concerned about the continuing conflict in Myanmar and by reports that civilians have died trying to reach safety. It is of utmost urgency to address the root causes of the recent surge in violence so that people are no longer compelled to flee and can eventually return home in safety and dignity.
Those who have made it to Bangladesh are in poor condition. Most have walked for days from their villages – hiding in jungles, crossing mountains and rivers with what they could salvage from their homes. They are hungry, weak and sick.
With hundreds of new refugees arriving every day, Kutupalong and Nayapara camps are at breaking point. The new arrivals are hosted by refugee families and in refugee schools, community centres, madrassas and covered structures.
There is an urgent need for additional emergency shelters and land as more refugees arrive. Coordination is crucial with the authorities to ensure that life-saving assistance gets to those who need it the most.
Three Rohingya children who sustained injuries reportedly from landmine explosion along Myanmar-Bangladesh border on Tuesday were taken to Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar crossing the border and admitted to Kutupalaong refugee camp hospital.
The injured were identified as Umme Sultana, 13, Ibrahim, 16 and Md Yunus, 11.
Earlier on Monday, one leg of a Rohingya woman-Sabekun Nahar, 45, — was blown off in an explosion along the border.
When asked about explosions along Myanmar-Bangladesh border, Major Iqbal Ahmed, Second-in Command, 34 BGB Battalion, said, “A woman was injured in landmine explosion at 2:30 pm Tuesday while two siblings were injured at 8:00am on the same day. Rohingyas saw 8 landmines near Tombroo along the border between 12:30pm and 1:00pm on Tuesday and two of those exploded that caused minor injuries to two children.”
All the explosions occurred on Myanmar side, he added.
Meanwhile, four more Rohingyas, who sustained bullet wounds by security forces in Rakhine State of Myanmar, were admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH).
They were taken to the hospital for better treatment on Tuesday night and early Wednesday, Alauddin Talukder, Sub Inspector at CMCH police outpost.
The injured were identified as Md Shafi, 25, son of Nurul Amin, Hasina Begum, 18, daughter of Ahmad Hossain, Jafar ALam, 25, son of Nuru Mia, Osama, 16, son of Abdul Jabbar hailing from different areas of Maungdu in Myanmar.
With the four, around 50 injured Rohingyas have been admitted to CMCH after fresh violence erupted in Rakhine State of Myanmar. Besides, many bullet-hit and burn-injured Rohingyas are undergoing treatment at Kutupalong refugee camp health complex and Cox’s Bazar Digital Hospital.
