Approximately 5,000 minority Rohingya Muslims attempting to flee from this week’s fighting in western Myanmar have been waiting for several days near the Naf River for an opportunity to cross into Bangladesh, residents said.
Intense combat in Rakhine state’s Maungdaw township between ethnic insurgent Arakan Army and Myanmar military junta forces have caused thousands of Rohingya to leave the township’s administrative center and surrounding villages in search of safety.
More than 1,500 Rohingya have arrived in camps in Bangladesh over the last several days, a Rohingya resident of Bangladesh identified as Mahmud Hussain told Radio Free Asia.
“About 500 are detained by the Bangladesh Border Guard force,” he said. “They are kept in one place. More than 1,000 people have arrived in the camp.”
About 1 million stateless Rohingya refugees live in tightly packed border camps in Bangladesh. Most fled there in 2017 to escape violent crackdowns in Rakhine state that were blamed on the Myanmar military.
But more Rohingya have been seeking refuge in Bangladesh lately as security has deteriorated in Rakhine state.
People are being charged 800,000 kyat (US$150) to be carried across by boat from Maungdaw to Bangladesh, according to Hasan, a 25-year-old Rohingya man who spoke to RFA earlier this week.
On Monday, homemade rockets, artillery and drones were fired at Rohingya on a riverbank, leaving dozens of people dead.
Witnesses who spoke to RFA put the death toll as high as 200, although RFA was unable to verify those estimates.
Several Rohingya told Radio Free Asia that the Arakan Army, or AA, were responsible for the attack. The AA denied in a statement on Wednesday that their troops fired the weapons.
Maungdaw city flashpoints
The AA has recently made gains in its fight for control of Maungdaw township – part of a wider civil conflict that has consumed much of the country since a 2021 military coup.
Residents on Thursday told RFA that junta troops continue to fight fiercely to defend their positions.
“The AA is attacking at four or five places in Maungdaw city,” one resident said.
Thousands of civilians are trapped in the city’s junta-controlled neighborhoods. In villages near fighting taking place outside of the city, AA troops have been escorting people – most of them Rohingya – to safer areas, residents who requested anonymity for security purposes said.
Various armed groups, including the AA and some smaller groups aligned with the junta, have been using Rohingya residents as human shields in the recent fighting, according to Rohingya rights activist Mamud Kasein.
“The current situation is very terrible,” he said. “All armed groups are concerned with these crimes. International organizations must protect these civilians.”
RFA was unable to contact AA spokesperson Khaing Thu Kha, junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun and Rakhine state Attorney General Hla Thein on Friday.
The Bangladesh Embassy in Yangon didn’t immediately reply to an email sent Friday asking for comment on the numbers of Rohingya attempting to cross into Bangladesh.
Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Matt Reed.