Arakan News Agency
The Rohingya Muslims fleeing Bangladesh from the fighting in Myanmar face a growing threat of disease and the attempts of the Bangladeshi authorities to repatriate them despite a UN appeal to allow them to remain.
The security crackdown led to the evacuation of thousands of Buddhist residents from the area.
At least 3000 people have been killed in clashes in Myanmar, mostly Rohingya but also members of the security forces and civilians.
Bangladesh already hosts more than 400,000 Rohingyas who have fled the persecution of their Buddhist majority in Myanmar since the early 1990s.
It is estimated that more than 100,000 Rohingyas have managed to cross the border into Bangladesh in the past few days, mostly infiltrating overnight across the land border of Bangladesh.
A relief worker said many were sick and died at least 100 died after crossing the border, adding that fear of arrest and return made some of them refuse to ask for help.
“What we see is that many Rohingyas are sick,” said a relief worker working for an international organization in Bangladesh, who asked not to be identified.
“That’s because they were stuck at the border before they entered. Mostly women and children. ”
“We are doing everything we can, but rapid response is required. Some of them are reluctant to be treated for fear of being arrested. ”
Aid workers and Rohingya members said thousands of them were stranded in the uninhabited area between the two countries, trying to enter Bangladesh.
Myanmar does not grant citizenship to Rohingya and considers them illegal immigrants, although they say their roots in the country date back centuries. Rohingya is subject to marginalization and violence.
