Fears of fresh Myanmar violence as Rohingya crisis intensifies

By Euronews

Published on 07/10/2017 - 21:45

A ceasefire declared by Muslim Rohingya insurgents is about to come to an end

As the world’s fastest-developing refugee emergency intensifies, there are fears of escalating violence in Myanmar.

An estimated 2,000 Muslim Rohingya refugees are arriving in Bangladesh daily, joining over half a million others who have made the journey.

Cholera is a risk and aid agencies have warned of a malnutrition crisis.

“We crossed the border the day before yesterday,” said newly-arrived refugee Mohammad Hossain, explaining that his group was brought to the Balukhali camp in the Cox’s Bazar district by the Bangladeshi army in a truck.

“We don’t have any food, we are waiting… we are hungry.”

We're assisting Rohingya refugees with emergency aid focused on protection, shelter, water and sanitation: https://t.co/Use18r652w pic.twitter.com/i71OZdcv3K
— UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) 7 octobre 2017

A sense of belonging is hard to find.

Fellow refugee Noor Alam, at the Kutupalong camp, says his Rohingya people are being killed in Myanmar where they are treated as illegal Bengali migrants from Bangladesh.

“But when we come to Bangladesh, these people are calling us Rohingya…. Where will we go? There is no place for us.”

As Bangladesh struggles to cope with the influx, there are fears of an additional flare-up of violence in Myanmar where security forces responded to Rohingya militant attacks with a brutal crackdown.

A one-month ceasefire declared by the insurgents to enable the delivery of aid in violence-racked Rakhine State will come to an end at midnight on Monday.

Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) insurgents say they are ready to respond to any peace move by the Myanmar government.

But when the ARSA announced the ceasefire from Sept. 10, a government spokesman said: “We have no policy to negotiate with terrorists”.

60% of recent Rohingya refugee arrivals in Bangladesh are children. UNICEFBD</a> is on the ground providing life-saving support. <a href="https://t.co/CxKTWPx7jJ">pic.twitter.com/CxKTWPx7jJ</a></p>— UNICEF (UNICEF) 7 octobre 2017

with Reuters

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