The bodies of 34 Rohingya refugees, who fled war-torn Myanmar and drowned when their boat overcrowded while crossing the river in Bangladesh, have been found, a senior government official said today.
Other refugees fleeing the fierce fighting described horrific scenes of bloodshed as thousands tried to escape. The ship sank on Tuesday, and the bodies of 10 people – including children – were found.
But more people have washed ashore, bringing the death toll to 34. Police said that the group fled their village in Myanmar’s Rakhine State and their small boat sank in the Naf River near Shahpari Island in Bangladesh.
Adnan Chowdhury, the official administrator of Teknaf town in Bangladesh, said the boat was carrying Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar. The head of the village, Abdus Salam, said that the bodies were being buried.
The Rohingya are fleeing Myanmar to save their lives, he said. At least 1,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state to Bangladesh in recent weeks, Chowdhury said.
Conflict has engulfed Rakhine state since the Arakan Army (AA) attacked junta forces in November, ending a ceasefire that had been in place since the army took over in 2021. Bangladesh is home to about a million Rohingya refugees, many of whom fled Rakhine state in 2017 after a military appeal is now being investigated for extradition by the United Nations tribunal.
Abdul Kalam, 35, a Rohingya refugee, arrived yesterday on another boat after fleeing the Rakhine town of Maungdaw and said thousands of people are trying to escape. The Arakan army is killing us… they want to drive us out of Rakhine, he said.
I saw a lot of blood shed. They are killing the Rohingya people.
Chowdhury said unrest in Bangladesh had delayed the recovery of the body after weeks of student protests that toppled the prime minister on Monday. “We cannot send our security personnel to the accident site as they are actively involved in politics,” Chowdhury told AFP.
