INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Thousands of Rohingya are being forced to flee from their homes in Myanmar and escape on dangerous boat journeys after being targeted by
has turned on the Rohingya minority in areas it controls, shelling villages, forcing them to leave their homes and reportedly rounding up
groups of men.A UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said precise numbers could not be verified but that thousands of Rohingya
had fled the townships of Maungdaw and Buthidaung in recent weeks.Rohingya activists in the Nayapara refugee camp in Bangladesh said they
found the bodies of three people washed up on the banks of the Bangladeshi side of the Naf River, which forms the border with Myanmar, on
Tuesday, while dozens have more have been recovered in recent weeks.Many villagers ran to nearby rivers in the hope of escaping by boat,
military regime first launched attacks on the Muslim minority in 2017.View image in fullscreenRelatives mourn by bodies of Rohingya refugees
who drowned in the Naf River this month
Photograph: AFP/GettyThe UN official said it appeared that a coordinated attack took place on 5 August
Rohingya from several villages were forced from their homes to a riverbank by Arakan Army fighters, where they were then targeted by
attempts by international mediators to contact the Arakan Army after previous reports of aggression, including sieges of villages that
prevented the Rohingya from working or farming, but the drone attacks on 5 August marked an escalation in hostilities.View image in
August, which is being blamed on the Arakan Army
returned many of the boats that have arrived from Myanmar but others have managed to get through as Bangladeshi security forces are
over-stretched after weeks of unrest surrounding the resignation of the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.The head of the new interim
said.Bangladesh has enforced harsh measures on Rohingya refugees, most of whom arrived after the massacres in 2017, restricting work, travel
and education in an effort to encourage their return to Myanmar.However, attempts to repatriate them have failed because of a lack of
guarantees of their safety in Myanmar
Rohingya to fight against the Arakan Army, while the Arakan Army has attacked the Rohingya, accusing them of collaborating with the
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in fullscreenRohingya activists in the Nayapara refugee camp said they found three bodies washed up on the banks of the Bangladeshi side of
Photograph: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/GettyThe expulsion of 700,000 Rohingya from Myanmar in 2017 was the culmination of decades of violence and
persecution against the ethnic minority, which the United States has concluded was genocide.About 500,000 Rohingya are estimated to remain
in Myanmar, and activists fear the latest violence could lead to even more being forced from their homes.Tun Khin, president of the Burmese
terror that must be stopped
as refugees for fear they will be returned, leaving them without any kind of aid
aid agency Cafod said there was already a lack of funding for the refugees in Bangladesh and the arrival of more highlighted the need for
greater international support.Bibi Hazera, 12, said she fled from Maungdaw with 10 members of her family but only she and two siblings had
survived attacks by the Arakan Army
educated people have been killed
This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
