Boat with Rohingya refugees capsizes, killing 5 as more flee
KUTUPALONG (AP): A TRAWLER carrying Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar capsized, killing at least five people, as the country’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, blamed a misinformation campaign for fuelling a crisis that the UN says has now pushed more than 125,000 refugees into Bangladesh.
Suu Kyi’s top security adviser also sought to counter the storm of criticism the Government is facing from around the world over alleged army abuses against ethnic minority Rohingya, asserting that security forces were acting with restraint in pursuing “terrorists”.
On the Bangladesh side of the border with Buddhistmajority Myanmar, residents of Shah Porir Dwip fishing village recovered five bodies from the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday, hours after the boat capsized around midnight, police official Yakub Ali said.
It was not immediately clear where the boat began its journey, or if the passengers had been among some 450 detained by Bangladeshi border guards and ordered Tuesday to return to Myanmar.
While some border guards were letting refugees across the border, others were sending them back.
Faced with a mounting crisis
and a lack of space and basic supplies, Bangladesh said it will set up a new camp to accommodate Rohingya refugees who have arrived from Myanmar since August 25, many walking for days and crossing jungles and rivers to reach safety.
Shah Kamal of the Ministry
of Disaster Management did not say when the new camp would be ready. He said yesterday it would be established in Tyingkhali, south of Cox’s Bazar district and near the established camp in Balukhali where more than 50,000 Rohingya have been sheltering since October.