By Simon Lewis, Wa Lone

Reuters

September 4, 2017

COX‘S BAZAR, Bangladesh/YANGON -- Two blasts rocked an area on the Myanmar side of the border with Bangladesh on Monday, accompanied by the sound of gunfire and thick black smoke, as violence that has sent nearly 90,000 Muslim Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh showed no sign of easing. 

Bangladeshi border guards said a woman lost a leg from a blast about 50 meters inside Myanmar and was carried into Bangladesh to get treatment. Reuters reporters heard explosions and saw black smoke rising near a Myanmar village. 

The latest violence in Myanmar’s northwestern Rakhine state began on Aug. 25, when Rohingya insurgents attacked dozens of police posts and an army base. The ensuing clashes and a military counter-offensive have killed at least 400 people and triggered the exodus of villagers to Bangladesh. 

A Rohingya refugee who went to the site of the blast - on a footpath near where civilians fleeing violence are huddled in no man’s land on the border - filmed what appeared to be a mine: a metal disc about 10 centimeters (3.94 inches) in diameter partially buried in the mud. He said he believed there were two more such devices buried in the ground. 

Bangladeshi border guards said they believed the injured woman stepped on an anti-personnel mine, although that was not confirmed. 

Two refugees also told Reuters they saw members of the Myanmar army around the site in the immediate period preceding the blasts which occurred around 2:25 p.m. 

Reuters was unable to independently verify that the planted devices were landmines and that there was any link to the Myanmar army. 

The spokesman for Myanmar’s national leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Zaw Htay, said that a clarification was needed to determine “where did it explode, who can go there and who laid those land mines. Who can surely say those mines were not laid by the terrorists?” 

“There are so many questions. I would like to say that it is not solid news-writing if you write based on someone talking nonsense on the side of the road,” said Zaw Htay. 

The treatment of Buddhist-majority Myanmar’s roughly 1.1 million Muslim Rohingya is the biggest challenge facing Suu Kyi, accused by Western critics of not speaking out for the minority that has long complained of persecution.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has come under increasing diplomatic pressure from countries with large Muslim populations such as Turkey and Pakistan to protect Rohingya civilians. 

Myanmar says its security forces are fighting a legitimate campaign against “terrorists” responsible for a string of attacks on police posts and the army since last October. 

On Monday, Reuters reporters saw fires and heard gunshots before the explosions near the Myanmar village of Taung Pyo Let Way. 

‘NO FOOD ... NO TREATMENT’ 

Myanmar officials blamed Rohingya militants for the burning of homes and civilian deaths but rights monitors and Rohingya fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh say the Myanmar army is trying to force Rohingya out with a campaign of arson and killings.

The number of those crossing the border into Bangladesh - 87,000 - surpassed the number who escaped Myanmar after a series of much smaller insurgent attacks last October that set off a military operation. That operation has led to accusations of serious human rights abuses. 

The newest estimate, based on calculations by U.N. workers in the Bangladeshi border district of Cox’s Bazar, takes to about 174,000 the total number of Rohingya who have sought refuge in Bangladesh since October. 

The new arrivals have strained aid agencies and communities already helping hundreds of thousands of refugees from previous spasms of violence in Myanmar. 

“We are trying to build houses here, but there isn’t enough space,” said Mohammed Hussein, 25, who was still looking for a place to stay after fleeing Myanmar four days ago. 

“No non-government organizations came here. We have no food. Some women gave birth on the roadside. Sick children have no treatment.”

Hundreds of Rohingya milled beside the road while others slung tarpaulins over bamboo frames to make shelters against the monsoon rain. 

Among new arrivals, about 16,000 are school-age children and more than 5,000 are under the age of five who need vaccine coverage, aid workers said over the weekend. 

INTERNATIONAL ANGER 

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who said on Friday that violence against Myanmar’s Muslims amounted to genocide, last week called Bangladesh’s President Abdul Hamid to offer help in sheltering the Rohingya, Dhaka said. 

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met Suu Kyi and other officials in Myanmar on Monday, to urge a halt to the violence. 

Suu Kyi’s office said Marsudi expressed the Indonesian government’s “support of the activities of the Myanmar government for the stability, peace and development of Rakhine state”. 

They also discussed humanitarian aid and the two countries would collaborate for the development of the state, Suu Kyi’s office said without giving further details. 

There were more anti-Myanmar protests in Jakarta on Monday. 

Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, called on Suu Kyi to condemn the “shameful” treatment of the Rohingya, saying “the world is waiting” for her to speak out. 

In addition to tens of thousands of Rohingya, more than 11,700 “ethnic residents” had been evacuated from northern Rakhine state, the Myanmar government has said, referring to non-Muslims. 

The army said on Sunday Rohingya insurgents had set fire to monasteries, images of Buddha as well as schools and houses in the north of Rakhine state. It posted images of destroyed Buddha statues. 

Reporting by Simon Lewis and Nurul Islam in COX'S BAZAR'; Writing by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Robert Birsel, Martin Howell

By Al Jazeera

September 4, 2017

UN says 87,000 members of persecuted Muslim community have crossed into Bangladesh since violence erupted on August 25.

Nearly 90,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh in the last 10 days, uprooted by reported rapes, murders and acts of arson by the Myanmar army.

Vivian Tan, regional spokesperson for UNHCR, told Al Jazeera on Monday that women, children and the elderly made up the bulk of the 87,000 who had crossed into Bangladesh since violence erupted on August 25.

"We're seeing many pregnant women, new-born babies and the elderly make their way to relief camps on the Bangladeshi side of the border," she said.

"Sadly we're also hearing from many of them that they haven't eaten in days."

Viewed by the UN and the US as one of the world's most persecuted minorities, thousands of Rohingya flee their homes every year in a desperate attempt to reach Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries.

The latest mass exodus comes after suspected Rohingya fighters attacked police posts and an army base in the western region of Rakhine.

The Myanmar government has blamed the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) for the violence, but fleeing Rohingya civilians accused the Myanmar army of carrying out a campaign of arson and killings - aimed at forcing them out of the country.

Tan told Al Jazeera that the latest figure of 87,000 Rohingya did not include refugeeswho had fled in previous decades or those who had set up temporary shelter in "no-man's land", an area between the Bangladesh and Myanmar border.

"Since the 1970s, only 34,000 Rohingya have been registered with the UN in Bangladesh," Tan said, with "estimates of unregistered refugees in the hundreds of thousands."

As a non-signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, Bangladesh has refused to register the Rohingya as refugees since the early 1990s, nor allowed them to lodge asylum claims.

Ro Nay San Lwin, a Rohingya activist and blogger based in Europe, said many of the refugees were struggling to accept they could ever return to their ancestral homeland.

Using a network of activists on the ground to document the conflict, San Lwin told Al Jazeera that some refugees walked seven or eight days from Buthidaung to make it to Bangladesh, while those from Maungdaw had to walk for five days.

Up to 30,000 Rohingya refugees live in Kutupalong and Nayapara, two government-run camps near Cox's Bazar, with tens of thousands more living in makeshift camps.

"All of them are very weak, dehydrated and hungry and the Bangladesh government is not helping their situation at all.

"Unless the Bangladesh government opens the border, they're receiving these refugees unofficially and it's unlikely they'll ever be able to return to their homeland officially.

Videos uploaded on social media showed dozens of men, women and children hiding in Myanmar's jungle after security forces reportedly destroyed their village.

In a separate video, a Rohingya woman said she and her family had not eaten in days.

"We're also hearing reports of several villages facing shortages of food," Lwin said. "If things continue as they are people could start starving to death."

According to the latest estimate by UN aid workers in Bangladesh, nearly 150,000 Rohingya have sought refuge in the country since October.

Rakhine is home to most of Myanmar's 1.1 million Rohingya, who live largely in abject poverty and face widespread discrimination by the Buddhist majority.

The Muslim Rohingya are widely reviled as illegal migrants from Bangladesh, despite having lived in the area for generations.

They have been rendered stateless by the government and the UN believes the army's crackdown may amount to ethnic cleansing - a charge the government of Aung San Suu Kyi vehemently denies.

RB News

September 4, 2017

We are today into the eleventh day of the Myanmar military's full blown offensives on the Rohingya population across Northern Arakan. What we have been witnessing since August 25 are widespread arson attacks on Rohingya villages, burning down villages one by one, horrific massacres and summary executions of countless (Rohingya) civilians, massive displacements, unimaginable stream of refugee exodus into Bangladesh and unimaginable horrors of atrocity crimes.

Below are some figures of Rohingya civilians killed/executed, displaced and forced to flee to Bangladesh and the numbers of villages affected, damaged, partially burnt or entirely burnt down.

1. Number killed, excecuted, or burnt or shot death: Over 3,000

2. Remained Internally displaced in Northern Arakan: Over 200,000

3. Numbers fled to Bangladesh: more than 150 000  (today official figure is 87 000 but there are thousands who fled and not counted by the officials) 

4: Numbers trapped at the border trying to cross Naf River: 30,000 - 40,000 (approximately)

5: Numbers trapped in Maungdaw South: 20,000

6: Numbers trapped between Maungdaw and Buthidaung: 50,000 (this figure include in Internally displaced)

7. Villages (hamlets) damaged; burnt partially or wholly in 3 townships (Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung): Over 140

[Note: All figures give above are approximations based on our reports and trends of violence. We'll come up with figures as exactly as possible once the situation calms down.]

Below are the reports we have recieved so far today (the eleventh day; September 4, 2017)

1- [2am 4/9/2017] Myanmar military and Rakhine extremists set fire on Rohingya homes at 'Auk Phyu Ma' village in Northern Maungdaw at around 12:30am.

2- [6am 4/9/2017] Rohingya houses at 'Zay Kone Tan' hamlet of 'Aley Than Kyaw' village in southern Maungdaw were set fire by Myanmar Army today at 5:30am. 

3- [11am 4/9/2017]: Another village in southern Maungdaw named 'Zawmadat' was set fire by Myanmar Army and Rakhine extremists today at 10am.

Sources say had been calm and no attacks on anyone by anyone had taken place in and around the village until Myanmar military and Rakhine extremists set fire on the calm village in at 10am today.

4- [10am 4/9/2017] Remaining standing Rohingya houses at 'Thinbaw Kwe,' 'Thawan Chaung' and 'Inn Din' in southern Maungdaw have been set ablaze by the Myanmar military and the Rakhine extremists. 'Khwa Chaung' hamlet of 'Inn Din' village has been burnt down to its entirity.

1pm : Scores of Rohingya civilians hiding in the forest nearby 'Thinbaw Kwe' are feared have been killed during launcher attacks by the Myanmar military.

5- [1pm 4/9/2017] Myanmar military and Rakhine extremists have set fire on Rohingya houses at Nurullah village in Southern Maungdaw. 

1pm 4/9/2017: #Myanmar military & #Rakhine extremists have set fire on #Rohingya houses at #Nurullah village in S. #Maungdaw. pic.twitter.com/opIrieceMt

— M.S. Anwar (@mdskar) September 4, 2017

2:30pm: Myanmar military and Rakhine extremists are now setting fire on ancient Islamic Institute at Nurullah village in Southern Maungdaw.

6- [2pm 4/9/2017] Rohingya houses at 'Bakka Guna' village in Northern Maungdaw have been set ablaze by the Myanmar military and the Rakhine extremists. 

2pm 4/9/2017: #Rohingya houses at #BakkaGuna village in N. #Maungdaw have been set ablaze by #Myanmar military & #Rakhine extremists. pic.twitter.com/KJ9HanEpbx

— M.S. Anwar (@mdskar) September 4, 2017

7- [3pm 4/9/2017]: Myanmar military are setting Rohingya homes on fire at 'Taung Pyo Let Ya' in Northern Maungdaw.

3pm 4/9/2017: #Myanmar military are setting #Rohingya homes on fire at #TaungPyoLetYa in N. Maungdaw.#OpRohingya #SaveRohingya pic.twitter.com/ZHnJiZwD1M

— M.S. Anwar (@mdskar) September 4, 2017

8- [4:15pm 4/9/2017] The Myanmar military, BGP and the Rakhine extremists are now attempting to torch 'Godu Thara'village in Southern Maungdaw. The Rohingya villagers are resisting the attackers. Sounds of gun-shots and fire-launchers are being heard.

9- [6:30pm 4/9/2017] Duchiradan and East hamlet of Gawduthara were set fire by Myanmar Army and Rakhine extremists at 6:30PM today.

To be updated as news breaks....

-------

[2/9/2017] Drama staged: #Myanmar military page claimed they provided aids to (#Rohingya) villagers at #PantawPyin village in S. #Maungdaw pic.twitter.com/57zD1oxOov

— M.S. Anwar (@mdskar) September 2, 2017

#Myanmar Army torching the #Rohingya houses in #MaungNhaMa, #PhaWatChaung #Maungdaw since today 5:30PM @mdskar pic.twitter.com/i8OMT77xhe

— Ro Nay San Lwin (@nslwin) September 3, 2017 

Here's video. Arson attack by #Myanmar Army started at 5PM in #PhaWatChaung #Maungdaw pic.twitter.com/V7KIeeBzi0

— Ro Nay San Lwin (@nslwin) September 3, 2017

#Rohingya homes at #PhaWatChaung are continuously being burnt down by #Myanmar military. pic.twitter.com/BB6DZUXrab

— M.S. Anwar (@mdskar) September 3, 2017

6pm 3/9/2017: #ZinPaingNya #Rohingya village (nearby #KyiKanPyin) is continuosly being set fire on. pic.twitter.com/fPOqxlIGsu

— M.S. Anwar (@mdskar) September 3, 2017

[Reported by RB Correspondents in Northern Arakan; Edited by M.S. Anwar]

Please email at: editor@rohingyablogger.com to send your reports and feedback.

By Will Worley

The Independent 

September 3 2017 

Rohingya children have been beheaded and civilians burned alive, according to witness testimony amid claims that Burma's military and paramilitary forces are committing "genocide" or a "pogrom" against the Muslim minority in the country’s western Rakhine state.

Around 60,000 refugees are believed to have fled over the country’s western border into Bangladesh in a just a week following a clampdown on Rohingya militants. 

The British Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, called for the violence to end, saying the treatment of the Rohingya was “besmirching the reputation of Burma”, also known as Myanmar, and appealing to Aung San Suu Kyi to act.

Turkey's President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has gone much further, accusing Burma's forces of genocide and saying those who turned a blind eye to events were complicit.

Observers believe the number of displaced people is likely to increase. The Burmese military said 400 militants had been killed in clashes with their forces. 

Civilians who escaped gave horrific accounts of violence and destruction by Burmese soldiers and other armed groups.

A man named as Abdul Rahman, 41, said he had survived a five-hour attack on Chut Pyin village.

He told Fortifiy Rights, a charity working in the area, that a group of Rohingya men had been rounded up and detained in a bamboo hut, which was then set on fire.

"My brother was killed, [Burmese soldiers] burned him with the group,” he said. 

“We found [my other family members] in the fields. They had marks on their bodies from bullets and some had cuts.

"My two nephews, their heads were off. One was six years old and the other was nine years old. My sister-in-law was shot with a gun.”

Another man from the same village, named as Sultan Ahmed, 27, told the charity: “Some people were beheaded, and many were cut. We were in the house hiding when [armed residents from a neighbouring village] were beheading people.

"When we saw that, we just ran out the back of the house.”

Survivors from other villages in the region also described seeing people being beheaded or having their throats cut.

“We can’t stress enough the urgency of the situation,” said Matthew Smith, head of Fortify Rights. 

“The Myanmar authorities are failing to protect civilians and save lives. International pressure is critically needed.”

Satellite imagery released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) showed 700 buildings burned down in another Rohingya village, Chein Khar Li. 

“This new satellite imagery shows the total destruction of a Muslim village, and prompts serious concerns that the level of devastation in northern Rakhine State may be far worse than originally thought,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for HRW.

“Yet this is only one of 17 sites that we’ve located where burnings have taken place. Independent monitors are needed on the ground to urgently uncover what’s going on.”

The Burmese government has denied access to the affected areas to journalists and observers. 

On Saturday, Mr Johnson, appealed to Aung San Suu Kyi, the former dissident who won the Nobel Peace Prize and is now the country's State Counsellor, to intervene.

“Aung Sang Suu Kyi is rightly regarded as one of the most inspiring figures of our age but the treatment of the Rohingya is alas besmirching the reputation of Burma. She faces huge challenges in modernising her country," he said.

“I hope she can now use all her remarkable qualities to unite her country, to stop the violence and to end the prejudice that afflicts both Muslims and other communities in Rakhine. 

“It is vital that she receives the support of the Burmese military, and that her attempts at peacemaking are not frustrated. She and all in Burma will have our full support in this.”

Ms Suu Kyi has been silent on the extreme violence reported within her country and has faced mounting criticism from observers. 

The Tatmadaw, Burma's military, and paramilitary groups began the operation when the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) attacked security outposts in Rakhine on 25 August. 

Arsa claim to fight for Rohingya people but have also been accused of preventing civilians from leaving the conflict zones. 

Francis Wade, the author of a book about violence against the Rohingya, said on Twitter: “What's happening in Myanmar can be dressed up as counter-insurgency campaign, but in design and purpose, it's a pogrom and has popular support.” 

There are around a million Muslim Rohingya people in Burma but they have faced years of mistreatment at the hands of the government, which does not recognise them at citizens. They also face widespread discrimination from Buddhist majority population and are often referred to as Bengalis, alluding to a common myth that they are illegal immigrants. 

Earlier, Mr Erdogan said there was a “genocide” occurring in Rakhine. 

"Those who close their eyes to this genocide perpetuated under the cover of democracy are its collaborators," Mr Erdogan said. 

Turkey has offered to assist Bangladesh financially if it accommodated more refugees, but the south Asian country, which is already home to 400,000 displaced Rohingya, has been reluctant to allow more in.

By Associated Press 

September 3, 2017

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s president has called for an end to violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state and sent his foreign minister to discuss the plight of Rohingya Muslims with the country’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

There is mounting concern in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, about a military crackdown against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine that has forced tens of thousands to flee into Bangladesh.

At a press conference, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said he deplores the violence in Rakhine and promised humanitarian assistance.

“Real action is needed, not just statements and condemnations,” he said. “This violence and humanitarian crisis must end.”

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi flew to Myanmar on Sunday afternoon and plans to meet with several government figures including Suu Kyi.

The Foreign Ministry said Marsudi held talks Saturday with Indonesia’s major Muslim organizations, who called on Myanmar’s government to immediately restore security in Rakhine.

“Religious figures also stressed the importance of immediately stopping all forms of violence against Muslims and residents in Rakhine state and protecting the entire population of Myanmar,” the ministry said.

Marsudi will also travel to Bangladesh to inspect Indonesia’s efforts to provide aid to refugees from Myanmar.

Separately, dozens of police were guarding the Myanmar Embassy in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the mission early Sunday morning. No one was hurt.

Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said the attack started a fire in the rear of the embassy on the second floor.

By Maldives News

September 3, 2017

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, just a while ago, issued an official statement condemning the atrocities and acts of violence committed against the Muslim Community of Rohingya.

In this statement, the Maldivian Government expressed concern over the series of violence and condemns, in the strongest of terms, the atrocities committed against the Muslim community of Rohingya.

“The Maldives believes that the international community must act swiftly and firmly to stop the bloodshed – Foreign Ministry”

The Government of the Maldives has also decided to cease all trade ties with Myanmar until the Government of Myanmar takes considerable measures to prevent and stop the continued suffering by the minority Muslim Community of Rohingya.

The Statement also highlighted that the Government of Maldives urges the United Nation’s Secretary General and the United Nations Human Rights Council to look into the grave violations of human rights against the Rohingya Muslim Community.

The Maldives under President Yameen’s Administration, from the beginning, closely monitored the atrocious situation of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and has always, publicly condemned these acts of violence.

The Oppositional leader Mohamed Nasheed, during his regime, advocated for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi the de facto leader and the state councilor and close confidante of the President of Myanmar. Nasheed, however, remains silent on this grievous matter showing no signs of concern over the suffering of the Muslim brothers and sister in Myanmar.

The brutal acts of violence against the Rohingya Muslim community has taken the lives of dozens of Muslims and displaced thousands. These unfortunate events have forced thousands of Rohingya Muslims to migrate of out of their homes and to become refugees. The situation continues to worsen and is in need of swift action by the international community.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the reports of excesses during the security operations conducted by Myanmar's security forces in Rakhine State and urges restraint and calm to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.

The Secretary-General underlines the responsibility of the Government of Myanmar to provide security and assistance to all those in need and to enable the United Nations and its partners to extend the humanitarian support they are ready to provide.

The current situation underlines the urgency of seeking holistic approaches to addressing the complex root causes of violence. The Secretary-General urges the Government of Myanmar to implement the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine.

The Secretary-General appreciates the efforts of the Bangladesh authorities and communities to meet the dire needs of recent arrivals. He encourages the Government to ensure refugees are able to avail themselves of the support the United Nations and partners are mobilized to provide.

Original here.

Date- 31st August 2017 

Invitation - Protest against Mass Killings of Rohingya in Northern Arakan/Rakhine State, Burma/Myanmar 

From 25th August Myanmar army and police forces have been carrying out indiscriminate killing of Rohingya civilians, torching and wholesale destruction of their homes and villages. More than 3,000 Rohingyas, mostly old men, women and children were massacred, and at least 31 Rohingya villages were burned down in the township of Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung in Rakhine State. As of Today more than 100,000 Rohingya are internally displaced causing a great humanitarian disaster. Due to curfew order, blockade and extensive destruction of foodstuff and essentials, there is an acute shortage of food, medicine, and other necessities. The situation is exponentially worsening.

The Rohingya Community in the EU is holding a demonstration in front of the office of UN Human Rights Commission in Geneve Switzerland to urge the UN Security Council to discuss promptly the ongoing Genocide and to take a meaningful decision so that the Government of Myanmar stops the unprecedented campaign of terror, brutality and Genocide. Furthermore the decision of UNSC assures all the people of different faith in Burma, Rohingya of Arakan in particular of protection. 

We would like to invite you to join with us and raise your voice to protect Rohingya lives in Arakan. Thank you so much.

Please show your solidarity with us. 

The demonstration will take place as follow;

Date : 5th September 2017 (Tuesday)

Time : 11:00-13:00

Place : UN Broken Chair 

Place des Nations

Genève 1202, Switzerland

For more information please contact: 

Tun Khin +44 7888714866

S Ahammed + 31 6 1503 3663

Azizul Haq + 41 4191 02 367

Media Release from Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK

1st September 2017

160,000 Newly Displaced Rohingya Creates New Humanitarian Crisis – Attacks Ongoing

Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK sources indicate that around 160,000 Rohingya have been displaced by the new military offensive which began on August 25th.The government and military are only assisting displaced Rakhine people. Where Rohingya populations live or have fled to, no humanitarian access is allowed. 

Aid is also being blocked to Rohingya displaced by previous violence and attacks. 

At least 10,000 Rohingya are trapped in Buthidaung and Rathaedaung mountain area without food, water or medicine. Children, the injured and elderly are already dying. 

“For many thousands it’s now a week since they were forced to run from their homes, they don’t have food, water, medicine or shelter,” said Tun Khin President of Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK. “Unless international action is taken to ensure aid access, there is a risk that more people will die from hunger and disease as by direct attacks by the military.”

Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK is shocked by the lack of a strong international response to the new military offensive, given the scale of human rights violations taking place. 

“One week into this major military offensive, the international community has done nothing, despite knowing crimes against humanity are being committed, said Tun Khin.“Our history is one of suffering but even for us we are now witnessing the most horrific situation in our history. We need action from international community, but we aren’t even getting strong statements. No wonder the attacks carry on.”

For more information please contact, Tun Khin +44 7888714866.

By The Daily Star

August 31, 2017

Nineteen bodies were recovered from the Bay of Bengal after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar trying to enter Bangladesh capsized in Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar last night.

Among the deceased whose identities could not be known yet, ten were children and nine women, our Cox’s Bazar staff correspondent reports quoting Officer-in-Charge of Teknaf Police Station Mohammad Main Uddin Khan.

The boat capsized at the west beach (Paschim Saikat) of Subrang union in Shah Pori Dweep in the upazila.

Informed by Subrang Union Parishad member Nurul Amin, law enforcers recovered bodies of two children around 11:30pm yesterday, OC Main Uddin said.

In a combined search of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Coast Guard and Bangladesh police, 17 other bodies were recovered in the wee hours today, the official said.

With this, the death toll from Rohingya boat capsize reaches to 23 as four more drowned in another boat capsize in the Naf river Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate of Cox’s Bazar Mohammad Ali Hossain told The Daily Star that if no one claims the bodies, those will be buried by the police according to rituals.

However, if someone claims, the bodies will be handed over, the official said.

Quoting three UN sources International news agency Reuters reports around 27,400 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh to escape violence in Myanmar during the past week and a further 20,000 are marooned in no man's land between the two countries.

Violence erupted in Myanmar's Rakhine State on Friday triggering a fresh influx of refugees towards Bangladesh.

Several thousand Rohingyas from Myanmar, mostly women, children and elderly people, were waiting in no man's land along the Naikhyangchhari border to enter Bangladesh territory.

Though Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) remains active against trespassing, more than 10,000 Rohingyas have already managed to get into Bangladesh through several points of the 274km Bangladesh-Myanmar border of Cox's Bazar and Bandarban.

Some Rohingya people with bullet and burn injuries have been admitted to different hospitals in the last three days. They claim to be the victims of Myanmar military offensive.

Myanmar: Worsening cycle of violence in Rakhine must be broken urgently, UN expert warns

August 31, 2017

GENEVA – A United Nations human rights expert has expressed alarm at the deteriorating situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, affecting not just the Rakhine and Muslim populations but also other communities. Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims are now reported to be fleeing towards Bangladesh. 

“The humanitarian situation is deteriorating rapidly and I am concerned that many thousands of people are increasingly at risk of grave violations of their human rights,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee.

“The worsening cycle of violence is of grave concern and must be broken urgently.”

Ms. Lee said the suffering of the Rohingya was particularly poignant this week, while the world’s Muslim communities celebrated Eid al-Adha on 1 September but the Rohingya remained in a precarious situation, not knowing their future or the fate of their relatives. 

Latest estimates from UN sources suggest more than 27,000 people have crossed into Bangladesh in the area around Cox’s Bazar, while 20,000 more remain stranded between the two countries. The number continues to grow.

The Special Rapporteur noted concerns over both the extremist attacks which followed the release of the final report by the Rakhine Advisory Commission, led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and the major security operations undertaken in response to the attacks.

“I am concerned that these events will derail efforts to address the root causes of the systematic discrimination and recurrent violence in Rakhine State,” said the Special Rapporteur.

“If human rights concerns are not properly addressed, and if people remain politically and economically marginalized, then northern Rakhine may provide fertile ground for radicalization, with people becoming increasingly vulnerable to recruitment by extremists,” said Ms. Lee. “These concerns were raised by the Advisory Commission and I share them fully.”

“I am saddened to receive reports that, while the authorities are helping Rakhine and other communities living in affected townships evacuate to safer locations, this assistance is not being extended to the Rohingya Muslims,” she added.

The situation had worsened considerably since extremist attacks on 25 August, with credible multiple sources reporting violations which include Rohingyas being indiscriminately killed and injured by military gunfire, even while fleeing, and helicopters and rocket-propelled grenades being used against the civilian population.

Ms. Lee reminded the authorities of their human rights obligations to give equal protection to people from all communities, whether from attacks by extremists or excessive action from the security forces. She has previously expressed concern over the military build-up in Rakhine State, urging the security forces to exercise restraint in all circumstances and to respect human rights.

“I express the strongest condemnation of the attacks carried out by militant extremists and urge them to immediately halt further violence against the innocent civilian population.

“I call on the Government to ensure the immediate provision of assistance to all affected communities in Rakhine State, and grant unfettered access to the United Nations to provide humanitarian assistance, including to address protection concerns, and to monitor the situation. Even before last Friday’s attacks, access for humanitarian actors had been very limited in northern Rakhine, negatively impacting the support they provide.”

This statement has been endorsed by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ahmed Shaheed, and the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Fernand de Varennes.