Over 3200 displaced in Kyawktaw (Rakhine State) without anything to eat.The riot in Kyawktaw that occurred on 5-6 August has displaced more than 3200 people, who are currently confined to the nearby places where they escaped to. 

The victims, who were driven out of their villages, are now staying in open spaces without anything to eat. Few people are accommodated in crowded public places." we have nothing to eat, what is worse that we cannot move anywhere to seek food" said U Thein Myint, one of the victims from Apauk WA, whose houses were burned down. 

The latest figures indicate that 50 houses were set fire in Apauk WA, 135 houses in Shwe Haling, 116 houses and one mosque in Gut Pi taung, and 105 houses one mosque in Ywar Nyar.At least 10-15 Muslims were killed in incidents, with several others injured and missing.

The victims said security forces told them that they will be moved to safe locations but timing remains unmentioned. "There is some Muslim villages close by, but they cannot come to provide food to us. They are blocked by Rakhine Mg Tin, another victim, added. 

Most of the victims said they are hopeful that an independent and neutral body, such as United Nations and INGOs, could intervene in time to stop potential suffering.

RB News Desk

France attaches great importance to a peaceful, concerted resolution of ethnic issues in Burma in order to achieve reconciliation. The status of Muslim populations living in Rakhine state in western Burma must be clarified as far as their right to nationality is concerned, and regardless of that status, they must be granted all human rights.

There are reports of troubling acts of violence against civilians by the security forces. We urge the Burmese authorities to protect all civilian populations without discrimination and to investigate these possible atrocities.

Beyond the immediate measures taken to ease tensions in the region and the humanitarian response to the needs of displaced persons, it would seem that the Burmese authorities should define a rehabilitation and reconciliation strategy based on the integration, and not the separation, of the two communities.

What is surprising is that despite this policy failing for the past twenty years and beyond, rather than reassessing the policy and changing direction, Bangladesh’s response to the current crisis has been to adopt an even more extreme and hard-line version of its failed policies. Last week’s order to three international aid agencies, MSF, Action Against Hunger and Muslim Aid, to stop proving aid to Rohingya refugees, in the full knowledge of the suffering and possible deaths that such an order will cause, will not solve any of the problems Bangladesh faces with Rohingya refugees.

Rohingya people are not going to Bangladesh because they are drawn by the prospect of luxury refugee camps. Rohingya people flee to Bangladesh because for decades in Burma they have faced severe human rights abuses at the hands of one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world. And more people are fleeing now because the military-backed government, facing the prospect of having its political party wiped out by the National League for Democracy at the next elections, is playing the nationalist card in order to try to build support, and is targeting the Rohingya as an unpopular Muslim ethnic minority.

The root cause of Rohingya refugees arriving in Bangladesh is the persecution they face, and also the long-term refusal of the government to allow international agencies full and free access to assist the Rohingya. Preventing refugees in Bangladesh from receiving aid doesn’t address this problem. Devoting significant military police and security resources to trying to turn back refugees doesn’t solve this problem. What is needed is a political solution.

Bangladesh could win significant international plaudits and favours by allowing Rohingya refugees’ entry to Bangladesh, and negotiating a fully-fledged international aid operation, funded internationally, to assist those refugees. It could use the goodwill created by such a gesture to secure humanitarian and development funding for the whole border region, transforming the lives of local Bangladeshi citizens. There would be no significant cost to the government of Bangladesh, and there would be significant benefits for Bangladeshi people and the reputation of Bangladesh.

At the same time Bangladesh should begin a diplomatic initiative to tackle the root causes of the problem, which is Burma’s treatment of the Rohingya. It could mobilise support from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, which includes the governments of Indian and Sri-Lanka, both close to Burma’s military-backed government. The current high profile of the Rohingya issue gives Bangladesh the opportunity to enlist the support of not just western countries, but a much broader alliance in international forums such as the Human Rights Council and United Nations General Assembly, which can be used to apply pressure on the government of Burma to stop persecution of the Rohingya and reform the laws which render them stateless.

There is no quick fix or easy solution to the refugee crisis or the political problems at its root cause, which makes it all the more important that Bangladesh change policy now to try to find a more moral and humanitarian, and more effective strategy, to address this crisis. Bangladesh has so far followed a lose-lose policy on the Rohingya. It loses, the Rohingya lose. It’s time for a win-win policy.

Sources Here

Tripoli, Libya – The Libyan government on Thursday strongly denounced the massacres perpetrated on Moslems in Myanmar, Burma, as well as the setting ablaze of mosques. In a statement issued by the ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Libyan government described it as 'odious crimes'.

The statement called on the international community to face its responsibilities and go beyond simple condemnations and declarations, for an urgent action at different levels, so as to put an end to these attacks and ask their perpetrators to answer for their misdeeds.

The Libyan government expressed its support for an urgent session of the UN Council of Human Rights, to adopt a unified position condemning these barbaric acts.

The Rohingyas, a Moslem ethnic group in Burma, are continuously persecuted and bullied, according to the media that reported the latest massacre perpetrated against Rohingya men, women and children.

Sources Here:

08/04/2012

Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Minister Plenipotentiary Amr Roshdi condemned the acts of violence against Muslims in Myanmar, adding that the visit of the Chargé d'affaires of Egypt in Myanmar to ​​Rakhine, which had witnessed acts of violence between Muslim and Buddhist communities, showed large disparity in the damage that afflicted each side. It was crystal clear that the Muslim areas were more violently and severely affected and the Muslim citizens' properties were substantially damaged.

The Spokesman outlined that since the beginning of the events, Egypt had the initiative to move bilaterally and internationally to prevent its recurrence. The Ambassador of Myanmar in Cairo was summoned to the headquarters of the Foreign Ministry to receive an urgent message from Foreign Minister Mohammed Amr to deliver it to the Foreign Minister of Myanmar. Egypt demanded halting violence against Muslims immediately and taking necessary measures to prevent their recurrence. Furthermore, Egypt made a number of contacts and demarches through the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the United Nations to confront the issue and stop the violence afflicted on the Muslim community in Myanmar, in addition to the participation of the Chargé d'affaires of Egypt in Myanmar in the aforementioned field visit.

Commenting on the protesters burning and dropping the flag of Myanmar flying on its embassy in Cairo, the Spokesman said that while understanding the feelings of anger felt by all Egyptians for the acts of violence against Muslims in Myanmar, nonetheless, attacking a foreign embassy in Egypt or burning its flag contradicts Egypt's international obligations of protecting and securing the members and buildings of foreign missions on the Egyptian territories, while in this particular case, it does not help the issue of Myanmar Muslims. 

The Spokesman called upon everyone to allow Egypt's efforts and intensive diplomatic contacts to face the situation in a manner that keeps the lives of the Muslim community in Myanmar and maintain their rights, and meanwhile maintain Egypt's image and reputation.

Source : Ministry of Foreign Affairs of  Egypt

At last somebody in an official position has said something. United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay has called for an independent investigation into claims that Burmese security forces are systematically targeting the Rohingya, a Muslim minority community living in the Arakan region. Even the Burmese government says at least 78 Rohingya were murdered; their own community leaders say 650 have been killed.

Nobody disputes the fact that about 100,000 Rohingyas (out of a population of 800,000) are now internal refugees in Burma, while others have fled across the border into Bangladesh. As you would expect, the Buddhist monks of Burma have stood up to be counted. Unfortunately, this time they are standing on the wrong side.

This is perplexing. When the Pope lectures the world about morality, few non-Catholics pay attention. When Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran instructs the world about good and evil, most people who aren’t Shia Muslims just shrug. But Buddhist leaders are given more respect, because most people think that Buddhism really is a religion of tolerance and peace.

When the Dalai Lama speaks out about injustice, people listen. Most of them don’t share his beliefs, and they probably won’t act on his words, but they listen with respect. But he hasn’t said anything at all about what is happening to the Rohingyas ― and neither has any other Buddhist leader of note.

To be fair, the Dalai Lama is Tibetan, not Burmese, but he is not usually so reserved in his judgments. As for Burma’s own Buddhist monks, they have been heroes in that nation’s long struggle against tyranny ― so it’s disorienting to see them behaving like oppressors themselves.

Buddhist monks are standing outside the refugee camps in Arakan, turning away people who are trying to bring food and other aid to the Rohingya. Two important Buddhist organizations in the region, the Young Monks’ Association of Sittwe and the Mrauk U Monks’ Association, have urged locals to have no dealings with them. One pamphlet distributed by the monks says the Rohingya are “cruel by nature.”

And Aung San Suu Kyi, the woman who spent two decades under house arrest for defying the generals ― the woman who may one day be Burma’s first democratically elected prime minister ― has declined to offer any support or comfort to the Rohingyas either.

Recently a foreign journalist asked her whether she regarded Rohingyas as citizens of Burma. “I do not know,” she prevaricated. “We have to be very clear about what the laws of citizenship are and who are entitled to them.”

If she were honest, she would have replied: “Of course the Rohingya are citizens, but I dare not say so. The military are finally giving up power, and I want to win the 2015 election. I won’t win any votes by defending the rights of Burmese Muslims.”

Nelson Mandela, with whom she is often compared, would never have said anything like that, but it's a failure of courage on her part that has nothing to do with her religion. Religious belief and moral behavior don’t automatically go together, and nationalism often trumps both of them. So let’s stop being astonished that Buddhists behave badly and just consider what’s really happening in Burma.

The ancestors of the Rohingya settled in the Arakan region between the 14th and 18th centuries, long before the main wave of Indian immigrants arrived in Burma after it was conquered by the British empire during the 19th century. By the 1930s the new Indian arrivals were a majority in most big Burmese cities, and dominated the commercial sector of the economy. Burmese resentment, naturally, was intense.

The Japanese invasion of Burma during the Second World War drove out most of those Indian immigrants, but the Burmese fear and hatred of “foreigners” in their midst remained, and it then turned against the Rohingya. They were targeted mainly because they were perceived as “foreigners,” but the fact that they were Muslims in an overwhelmingly Buddhist country made them seem even more alien.

The Rohingya of Arakan were poor farmers, just like their Buddhist neighbors, and their right to Burmese citizenship was unquestioned until the Burmese military seized power in 1962. However, the army attacked the Rohingya and drove some 200,000 of them across the border into Bangladesh in 1978, in a campaign marked by widespread killings, mass rape and the destruction of mosques.

The military dictator of the day, Ne Win, revoked the citizenship of all Rohingyas in 1982, and other new laws forbade them to travel without official permission, banned them from owning land, and required newly married couples to sign a commitment to have no more than two children. Another military campaign drove a further quarter-million Rohingyas into Bangladesh in 1990-91. And now this.

On Sunday former general Thein Sein, the transitional president of Burma, replied to U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay: “We will take responsibilities for our ethnic people but it is impossible to accept the illegally entered Rohingyas who are not our ethnicity.” Some other country must take them all, he said.

But the Rohingya did not “enter illegally,” and there are a dozen “ethnicities” in Burma. What drives this policy is fear, greed and ignorance ― exploited, as usual, by politicians pandering to nationalist passions and religious prejudice. Being Buddhist, it turns out, doesn’t stop you from falling for all that. Surprise.

Gwynne Dyer is a London-based independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries.


Source : Korean Times

RIYADH – The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is planning to send a fact-finding mission to Myanmar to probe the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State, according to OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.

He said after the conclusion of the Executive Committee meeting of permanent representatives on the Rohingya issue held at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah Sunday that the OIC will communicate with the government of Myanmar.

Ihsanoglu expressed his disappointment over the failure of the international community to take action to stop the ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the government of Myanmar against the Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State.

Speaking at the extraordinary meeting of the OIC Executive Committee on this issue, he said that the indifference of the international community with regard to the rights of the Rohingya people, and the disunity among the 25 Rohingya organizations had motivated the OIC to take efforts to unite these organizations at the OIC headquarters last May.

Ihsanoglu declared that the OIC has directed its UN office to work in coordination with OIC member states which are non-permanent members of the Security Council, like Azerbaijan, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo, to urge the Council to look into the sufferings of the Rohingya minority.

He suggested looking into the possibility of forming an Islamic fact-finding committee to find an ever-lasting and just solution to this pending issue.

Ihsanoglu called on the OIC Permanent and Independent Human Rights Commission to study the crisis of Myanmar Muslims and its human rights implications during its next session which will be held in Turkey by the end of this month.

The OIC secretary general wished if Bangladesh could review its position on the Muslim refugees from Myanmar, and at the same time said that he understands Bangladesh position and the sensitivity of the issue.

Dr. Waqar Uddin, Director General of Arakan Rohingya Union (ARU), who broke down in front of the participants, pleaded the OIC to render support to its brothers and sisters who are being killed and displaced in Rakhine State.

He supported imposing economic sanctions on the Myanmar government and tightening of Western sanctions imposed on it.

Dr. Waqar Uddin made a presentation on the condition of Myanmar Muslims at the OIC Executive Committee meeting.

In a report this week citing witnesses and interviews with 57 people in Rakhine state, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said there was evidence of “state-sponsored persecution and discrimination” against the Rohingyas, which number at least 800,000 in Myanmar.

The report said security forces had carried out extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrest and torture and had done nothing to intervene to stop the lynching of 10 Muslims by a Buddhist mob, which preceded a week of riots, arson and knife attacks that killed 77 people and displaced tens of thousands.

Sources Here :

Killing and Burning of Rohingya Villages in Kyauktaw

We, BRCA (Burmese Rohingya Community in Australia) would like to express our deep and great concern over the ongoing and grave situation in Rakhine State. The latest news coming out from Rakhine is terrible and it is so obvious that the Rakhine state government plan is to drive out/clean the Rohingyas from Rakhine state completely. It seems the Rakhine extremists sponsored by state government temporarily stopped the killing and burning of the Rohingya villages because of the UN Special Rapporteur Tomás Ojea Quintana’s visit to Arakan state. As soon as the Rapporteur left yesterday, the Rakhine extremists started burning of Rohingya houses in Kyauktaw, Rakhine State today (05/08/2012).

We have received the information from our reliable sources in Kyauktaw that Rakhine extremists attacked first to one of Rohingya villages, Gupitaung village and burned the houses today (05/08/2012) at 12 pm (Burmese time). Total of 153 homes are burnt down and the whole village is completely destroyed. There is no further news or information received about the villagers. At 1 pm today (5/08/2012), they attacked another Rohingya village, Apoutwa village. There are total of 200 houses in that village and of these, 47 houses were previously burnt down. Today, they attacked the remaining houses and 35 houses are burnt down and 4 Rohingyas were killed. The Rakhine extremists also attacked to another Rohingya village called Shwe Hlaing village today (05/08/2012) and destroyed whole village and all 200 houses are burnt down. There is no news or information received about the villagers’ whereabouts.

Acoording to the ground source, the remaining villages in Kyauktaw are also in great danger and all villagers, regardless of age and gender, are in a high fear and panic that the people can be killed and their houses can be burnt down at any time at these dark hours. Thein Sein’s regime is not protecting Rohingya at all, and instead encouraging and supporting the Rakhine extremists to kill the Rohingyas and destroy Rohingya villages.

We strongly condemn the above atrocities and urge International communities to apply pressure on Thein Sein’s government to implement the following:

• To stop immediately the killing of the innocent Rohingyas and burning of Rohingya houses.

• To stop ethnic cleansing against the Rohingyas immediately and unconditionally.

• To restore law and order particularly in Rakhine State.

• The International media should go inside Arakan State and find the true account of the atrocities.

In Myanmar's northwest, ethnic and religious tensions continue to fuel violence against Muslim Rohingyas, a minority group denied citizenship and legal rights by the government. A new report from Human Rights Watch says Burmese security forces are also complicit. Since the recent unrest began in June, about 80,000 have been displaced, and neighbouring Bangladesh is refusing the entry of Rohingya refugees fleeing the violence. Earlier this month Myanmar’s President Thein Sein, who has been lauded for leading recent political reforms, even suggested that the Muslim minority should be moved out of the country.

In this episode of The Stream, we speak to Wakar Uddin, Chairman of the Burmese Rohingya Association of North America and John Sifton (@johnsifton), Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch.

Today BROUK President Tun Khin was interviewed by Aljazeera Studio in London regarding Rohingya crisis in Burma. Tun Khin raised about current situation including fresh attack in Kyauktaw .He also highlighted Bangladesh government should find out a solution on Rohingya issue and instead of pushing out Rohingyas. Asean Countries should play a key role as as ASEAN have influence on Burmese Government and Muslim countries should raised Rohingya issue to UN general Assembly to find out a solution and to establish UN commission of Inquiry.

Communal attacks in Rakhine State resurface on 5 August, with Rakhine people burning more than 200 houses of Muslim residents in three villages in Kyauk Taw Township and killing at least six people, following the visit of the Vice President Sai Mauk Kham to Kyauk Taw on 4 August.

The incident in Gut Pi Taung village in Kyauk Taw Township occurred in the afternoon when a crowd of at least 500 Rakhine people appeared.

“Our houses are on fire. We are now running away from the place as they are also endangering our lives” said U Aung Myint, a Muslim resident in Gut Pi Taung.

Similarly, two other Muslim villages, Apuak Wa and Shwe Hlaing, were also attacked by Rakhine people.

In Apauk Wa, 32 out of 50 houses were burned down by the Rakhine people and four Muslims were killed until Military forces came to intervene. Over 50 houses in Apauk Wa village was burned down by the Rakhine people earlier in June when the first wave of incidents occurred.

Houses in Shwe Hlaing village are still on fire by the evening and the number of burned houses is yet to be confirmed.

Muslim residences reported that security forces, present in the scene, failed to intervene during the attacks.

“Rakhines are killing us. We asked for help from police who are just outside the village but they refused to stop them” said U Kyaw Thein, a Muslim resident in Shwe Hlaing village.

Meanwhile in Paik The village, two people, who happened to be outside the village, were killed by the Rakhine people surrounding the location.

People who are providing assistance to those villages mentioned that the situation is critical as the people there are already staying with minimal level of food supply.

“We try to send some money there so that they can buy food through military personnel. The situation is already vulnerable and this incident can add many challenges to their lives,” said a 28-year-old Muslim in Yangon.

Earlier reports indicate that even though Kyauk Taw was exempted to an extent from the conflict in June, people in those villages are confined to their houses and movement is limited by the Rakhine people who are wandering around to stop channels of food and other supplies.

RB News desk

                     M. Jusuf Kalla. (ANTARA/Saptono)

Kuala Lumpur (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Red Cross head Muhammad Jusuf Kalla will visit Myanmar to urge the government there to let Rohingya Muslims have access to humanitarian aid.

"I will fly to Myanmar and I think the government now is not as rigid as in the past," former Indonesian Vice Presiden (2004-2009) said here on Friday.

On humanitarian grounds, Kalla added, the United Nation, ASEAN and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) should be allowed to provide relief aid to Rohingya Muslims.

"The humanitarian aspect must be considered," he stated. 

Neutral parties are needed to solve the problem of Rohingya Muslims. We need something similar to what the Indonesian government did when there was turmoil in Ambon, Kalla explained.

At the time, the Indonesian government did not allow religious organizations from foreign countries to play a role in resolving the conflict in Ambon island, because that could potentially aggravate the situation, he added.

However, Kalla said, political pressure from other countries was also important to end the conflict in Myanmar. He added that the conflict led to much violence against Rohingya Muslims, and their human rights were violated.

"Remember, that the most precious thing in this world is human rights," Kalla pointed out.

He said Myanmar and Bangladesh must let Rohingya Muslims have access to relief aid from foreign organisations.

"There should be cooperation in distribution of aids for Rohingya people," Kalla added.

He stated that Qatar had allocated US$200 million for Rohingya Muslims and the aid must be distributed to them.

"The Rohingnya issue is a political problem, which is similar to the racial conflict in Indonesia, involving Chinese-origin people, during the late 1950s," Kalla noted.

(Uu.F013/INE/KR-BSR/B/A014) 03-08-2012 18:53:39

Editor: Priyambodo RH

Source : Antara News

Kyawk Taw, Arakan 

Burma Campaign UK today called on British Foreign Secretary William Hague to end his silence on the current crisis in Burma and step up British diplomatic efforts to end the crisis. The current crisis has evolved into Burmese government led repression against the Rohingya.

Following communal violence in June, in which many Arakan and Rohingya people were displaced, there is a growing humanitarian and human rights crisis which is not receiving sufficient international attention, and it is highly likely that many lives are being lost as a result.

In the past few weeks, Burma Campaign UK has received the following reports:

· Burmese police, security forces and soldiers are raping, looting, torturing and arbitrarily killing Rohingya people.

· There have been mass arrests with Rohingya people kept in detention camps without trial, without food or medical services.

· Around 100,000 internally displaced people are in various locations, the vast majority without receiving proper assistance because they are ethnic Rohingya. Aid is mostly being blocked by the government, or where allowed, Rohingya people have been excluded.

· Unknown thousands of people fled to Bangladesh, where they are getting no aid or protection, while thousands more are turned back by the government of Bangladesh, literally at gunpoint, in violation of international law.

· Local authorities are refusing to allow many Rohingya people back to some villages, shops and homes in a policy that appears designed to ‘cleanse’ these areas of Rohingya people.

· The President of Burma has proposed a policy that amounts to ethnic cleansing, asking the United Nations to arrange for Rohingya people to be removed from Burma and sent to third countries.

“This is an incredibly serious situation and it continues to deteriorate at a very fast rate,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK. “There has not been anything like the international response that would be expected for a crisis on this scale. Action needs to be taken now to ensure aid can be delivered, arrests and human rights abuses stop, and people are allowed to return safely to their homes.”

Britain used to take the lead in mobilising the international community to respond to human rights and humanitarian crises in Burma, but now seems to focus more on positive news with ministers rarely commenting on on-going serious human rights violations. This no doubt helped to play a role in emboldening President Thein Sein to the degree where he felt he could propose rounding up and expelling all Rohingya people from the country. Without immediate strong international action, the situation will continue to deteriorate.

“The Foreign Secretary should be using every diplomatic and legal tool at his disposal to help bring an end to the current crisis, mobilising the international community and condemning proposals for ethnic cleansing,” said Anna Roberts. “Hague should withdraw the invitation to President Thein Sein to visit the UK in order to bring home to him the seriousness of the current situation and the fact that proposing ethnic cleansing is completely unacceptable.”

Source : BCUK

By Tomás Ojea Quintana, 

Source here

We reported to you on 1st August 2012 in the link here that a high ranking police officer called U Hla Sein (tel: 0949676422) is taking extraordinary step towards cruelty and tortures to Rohingyas in Maung Daw. His barbarous brutalities and malice against Rohingyas continue as he has been extorting money arbitrarily besides severely abusing them physically and mentally. He listed some 40 people from Quarter 5 of Maung Daw and is in demand of astonishing amount of money from them. “So far, he has, without any reason, arrested following people from Quarter 5 and extorted 5.8 Million Kyats besides torturing them through various means.

1. Rofique S/o Dilmohammed

2. Noor Alom S/o Akka

3. Eusuf S/o Ma'son

4. Mohammed Alom S/o Sayed

5. Ana Mustafa S/o Abdul Gafar

6. Noor Alom

7. Abusayed

8. Abul Hashim S/o Shabiran

9. Shafiqul Islam S/o Mohammed Shafiq

Aung Kyaw Kant, another high ranking police officer, in collaboration with the chairman of Quarter 3 of Maung Daw, is also on the same trend of extortion of money and inhumanely abusing Rohingyas. Till date, he has arrested tortured and extorted money from the following people. (The amount of money extorted is shown in Million (M) Kyats (Myanmar Currency).

1. Sayedul Amin S/o Sayed Kasim (5M Kyats)

2. Noor Hafez S/o Abu Sayed (0.8M Kyats)

3. Shafiqul Islam S/o Shafiq (1M Kyats)

4. Abdu Gafur S/o Basamya (1M Kyats)

5. Shafawdeen (a shop owner of Construction materials) (1.5M Kyats)

1. Abdurhaman with other (11) people (1 M Kyats)

About 1000 Rohingyas including men, women and children from Rathedaung Township of Arakan state in Burma fled their villages one week ago and tried to cross to Maungdaw Township through a mountain pass east of Andang village ( Innding in Burmese) in Maungdaw. But they were blocked by the security forces inside deep forest, not allowing to come out to either side of the mountain pass. They are now in critical situation as there is not enough food, medicine and lack of protection from monsoon rain. Urgent attention is needed for those dying people.