Hundreds of Rohingya flee Myanmar army crackdown to Bangladesh

SITTWE // Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims are fleeing a military crackdown in western Myanmar to Bangladesh, trying to escape an upsurge of violence that has seen more than 130 people killed by the army.

Some of the Rohingya 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.

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 October 9 that killed nine police officers.

They have locked down the district, where the vast majority of residents are Rohingya, shutting out aid workers and independent observers. The army has intensified its operation in the last seven days and has used choppers to reinforce, with dozens reported killed.

On Tuesday, Bangladeshi border guards pushed back a large group of Rohingya trying to cross.

“Early Tuesday, 86 Rohingya including 40 women and 25 children were pushed back by the BGB [Border Guard Bangladesh] from the Teknaf border point,” said Lt Col Anwarul Azim, commanding officer in eastern Bangladesh.

“All of them tried to enter Bangladesh and came by two engine-operated boats. Now we have beefed up our patrolling and additional forces have been engaged to ensure security in the border area,” he said.

Aid workers, camp residents and authorities in Bangladesh estimated at least 500 Rohingya had fled Myanmar since the October attacks. Four Rohingya from northern Rakhine 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.

The stateless Rohingya are seen by many Myanmar Buddhists as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. 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.

The recent upsurge in violence has brought the number of suspected militants killed to 102 since October 9, while the security forces’ toll stands at 32, according to a Reuters tally.

* Reuters