18,500 Rohingya flee to Bangladesh
maungdaw (Myanmar) — At least 18,500 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh since fighting erupted in Myanmar’s neighbouring Rakhine state six days ago, the International Organization for Migration said on Wednesday.
Plumes of smoke billowed from several burning villages in the worsthit section of the state, according to an AFP reporter on a governmentled trip to the area, as the violence showed little sign of abating despite security sweeps by Myanmar’s police and troops. The clashes began on Friday after militants from Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority community staged deadly surprise raids on police posts.
At least 110 people, including 11 state officials, have been confirmed dead and thousands of Rohingya have poured across the border to Bangladesh despite Dhaka’s attempts to stop them.
“As of last night, 18,500 people have come across,” Chris Lom, the IOM’s Asia-Pacific spokesman, told AFP, adding an unknown number were still stuck on the Myanmar side of the border. Lom said exact figures were difficult to obtain because many of those who crossed into Bangladesh might not have registered with local authorities.
On Tuesday an estimated 6,000 had massed at the “zero line” border with Bangladesh, days after the area came under mortar and machine gun fire by Myanmar security forces. The Rohingya, the world’s largest stateless minority and subject to severe restrictions on their movements, are barred from officially crossing. —