Some 5,200 people have entered Bangladesh from Myanmar as of Sunday in the wake of the latest violence in Rakhine state, UN refugee agency UNHCR estimates.
In a separate statement, New York-based Human Rights Watch said new satellite data is consistent with widespread burnings in at least 10 areas in northern parts of Myanmar’s Rakhine.
The burnings follow a series of coordinated attacks by ethnic Rohingya militants on August 25 against dozens of Myanmar government checkpoints and bases, it said.
The UNHCR in a statement on Tuesday said in light of the dramatic worsening since Friday of the situation, they have communicated to the Bangladesh government “its readiness to support Bangladesh in helping refugees fleeing across the border”.
Several thousand Muslim Rohingya people were reported to be in locations along the Myanmar side of the border.
UNHCR also underscored the UN secretary-general’s statement in which he condemned the violence in Rakhine state.
On the Bangladesh side of the border, some people are in cordoned-off areas near the border, and others are mainly in the Kutupalong area.
Most are women, children, or the elderly, and there have been reports of wounded people among them.
Aid efforts involving the Bangladeshi authorities, local communities, UNHCR partners and NGOs have been under way, including to get food, water, and medical help to the new arrivals.
Numbers of people needing help may rise further over the coming days.
UNHCR said it is also aware of several reported instances of people being prevented from entering Bangladesh. “This poses very grave risk to the individuals affected.”
Bangladesh has hosted refugees from Myanmar for decades, and “UNHCR believes it is of the utmost importance that it continues to allow Rohingya fleeing violence to seek safety there”.
UNHCR also calls on the international community to support Bangladesh in doing so, with all necessary aid and other help, according to bdnews24.com.
