Source: The National
SITTWE, MYANMAR // Fears are growing for thousands of Rohingya Muslims after a week of violence in western Myanmar.
Satellite images show “near total destruction” of a once-thriving Rohingya coastal community in Kyaukpyu, scene of battles between Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists.
More than 811 buildings and houseboats were razed, forcing many Rohingya to flee north by sea toward the state capital, Sittwe, said Human Rights Watch, who released the images.
Myanmar “urgently needs to provide security for the Rohingya … who are under vicious attack”, said Phil Robertson, the group’s deputy Asia director.
There were widespread unconfirmed reports of boatloads of Rohingya trying to cross to Bangladesh, which has denied them refugee status since 1992.
Dozens of boats full of Rohingya with no food or water were seeking access on Friday to overcrowded refugee camps around Sittwe. Some boats were blocked by security forces from reaching the shore and few Rohingya managed to reach the camps.
Wan-lark foundation, an organisation that has been assisting Rakhine Buddhist refugees, said no clashes in the state had been reported to them since Friday night, but dead bodies of Rakhines had been found.
“Around 6pm last night in Kyawtyaw, the bodies of 16 Rakhines were found in the sea. They had died during the attacks on Thursday. We’re looking for more bodies,” representative Tun Mein Thein said yesterday.
The chaos suggests Myanmar’s reformist government is struggling to contain historic ethnic and religious tensions suppressed during nearly a half century of military rule that ended last year.
Categories: Asia, Burma, Myanmar, Prayers For Peace