50,000 Rohingya flee genocide in Myanmar

International Desk: An estimated 47,500 of Myanmar’s one million Rohingya have fled towards Bangladesh in the past week, the United Nations said on Thursday, as Britain’s ambassador to the UN urged Aung San Suu Kyi to “set the right tone” to de-escalate tensions and the EU raised the spectre of inter-communal violence.

Latest UN figures showed 27,500 Rohingya had made it across the border since Friday last week, an increase of almost 10,000 on the previous day's figures. Another 20,000 were estimated to be stuck in no-man’s land between the two countries, as fighting between Myanmar security forces and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) militant group continued.

Others lost their lives attempting to escape. Bangladesh coastguards on Thursday found the bodies of 17 Rohingya, many of them children, who drowned when their boats capsized in choppy waters crossing from Myanmar.

While the conflict is worse in the north of the state, fears were growing for those in other areas as the European Union reported that “increasing intimidation of aid workers” over recent weeks was hampering the delivery of support in central Rakhine and putting lives at risk. It also highlighted increasing hate speech on social media.

Agencies



risingbd/Dhaka/Sep 2, 2017/Nasim