Army redoubling push to clear villages, say refugees

SHAH PORIR DWIP ( Bangladesh): Rohingya refugees arriving in Bangladesh amid a fresh exodus from strife-torn Myanmar have described whole villages being emptied and thousands marching to the border as security forces redouble efforts to drive the remaining Muslims from their homes.

More than 500,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled ethnic bloodshed in Myanmar in the past month and numbers are again swelling, with Bangladesh reporting 4,0005,000 civilians now crossing the border each day after a brief lull in arrivals.

Rashida Begum, who arrived in Bangladesh late Monday, said local officials assured the Rohingya community for weeks they would be safe if they remained in their village.

“(But then) the army came and went door to door, ordering us to leave,” she said of the military sweep in Maungdaw on Friday.

“They said they wouldn’t harm us, but eventually they drove us out and burned our houses.”

Begum, 30, fled with her daughter to the coast where hundreds of Rohingya waited to cross the Naf River dividing Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Myanmar state media said the fleeing Rohingya had left “of their own accord” despite assurances they would be safe.

“I wanted to stay in my village,” Hasina Khatum, 25, said.

“They (local officials) said ‘ don’t go to Bangladesh. Everything will be fine’. We believed them, but nothing improved. Eventually we had to leave.”

Fazlul Haq, a local councillor in the area, said the flow of boats had almost stopped by late September but has resumed in recent days, bringing scores of Rohingya families reporting threats and intimidation by the army. — AFP