Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims are fleeing a military crackdown in western Myanmar to Bangladesh, trying to escape an upsurge of violence that has brought the total number of dead confirmed by the army to more than 130, according to agencies.
Some of the Rohingyas were gunned down as they tried to cross the Naaf river that separates Myanmar and Bangladesh, while others arriving by boat were pushed away by Bangladeshi border guards and may be stranded at sea, residents said.
When contacted Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Thursday night said members of Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) and Coastguard are on high alert in order to thwart any trespass by the Rohingyas into Bangladesh territory.
“We are watching closely the overall situation alongside the Myanmar borders. Our BGB and Coastguard men are on high alert. We will not allow any Rohigya to our country,” he said.
However, Foreign Secretary Md. Shahidul Haque declined to make any comment on the issue.
The bloodshed is the most serious since hundreds were killed in communal clashes in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine in 2012. It has exposed the lack of oversight of the military by the seven-month-old administration of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.
Soldiers have poured into the area along Myanmar’s frontier with Bangladesh, responding to coordinated attacks on three border posts on Oct. 9 that killed nine police officers.
The BBC quoted Bangladeshi officials as saying that some attempting to flee have been shot and killed. Children are reportedly among the groups trying to escape.
At least 130 people have died since the operations began in Maungdaw, in the northern part of Arakan state, which is also known as Rakhine. Maungdaw is mostly populated by Rohingya Muslims, a persecuted stateless minority numbering about 1.1 million.
Humanitarian aid and access for journalists has been suspended since the start of counterterrorism operations, causing concern that civilians are being affected.
Tensions have simmered in Arakan state since a wave of communal riots between Buddhists and Muslims in 2012 left more than 100 dead and displaced some 140,000 others.
The violence has overwhelmingly affected Rohingya. About 100,000 are still confined to squalid displacement where they are denied movement, education and health care. Tens of thousands have fled by boat, many to their deaths in perilous seas.
Reuter sources said the Rohingya group was unlikely to have gone back to the villages in Myanmar and might be stranded at sea. The stateless Rohingyas are seen by many Myanmar Buddhists as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
Htain Lin, Border Affairs Minister of the Rakhine state government, refused to comment on the situation. Police Major Kyaw Mya Win, from the Maungdaw police, said the people were trying to escape because they tried to attack the military.
Four Rohingyas from northern Rakhine contacted by Reuters by telephone on Wednesday confirmed that hundreds were trying to escape and cross the river to Bangladesh.
They said some were gunned down. “The residents told me nearly 72 people were killed near the riverbank, that the military shot into the crowd on the river bank,” said a Rohingya community leader who declined to be identified.
Another man from Maungdaw said women and children from around 10 villages were trying to flee to Bangladesh and some were killed as they were trying to get into the boats.
“A lot of dead bodies were floating in the sea,” said the man. He added that these people were not travelling together, but that they had separated into groups of 20 or 50 to get on to the boats.
Residents and rights advocates have accused security forces of summary executions, rape and setting fire to homes in the recent violence. The government and army reject the accusations.
