The forced mass exodus continues: 4,000 more Rohingyas enter Bangladesh
Over the last 48 hours, some 4,000 Rohingya people crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar at the Anjumanpara border crossing point, an IOM press release said on Friday.
Traumatized, hungry and fearing for their lives, the Rohingyas had camped out in the open in an area of no man's land between the two countries. They crossed at low tide where they were met by Bangladeshi border guards.
Early Thursday morning, the Rohingyas, many of them vulnerable women and children who had been walking for days, crossed into Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district assisted by the border authorities. Some 1,400 crossed to a transit area to be registered.
The Rohingyas are fleeing the violence, which has convulsed their communities in Northern Rakhine state since late August. The Rohingyas join over 820,000 already living in some safety in Cox's Bazar, where over 607,320 have arrived since 25 August.
Overnight, a further 2,000 fleeing Rohingyas reached the crossing point and were assisted by the Bangladeshi authorities. They were being assisted by local authorities and medical services, including vaccinations, were being provided, along with screening by humanitarian organizations for those Rohingyas judged to be extremely vulnerable so that they could receive timely specialized assistance.
The UN Migration Agency, IOM runs a reception area at Balukhali in Cox's Bazar. There, emergency assistance was being provided in cooperation with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and UNWOMEN along with various local volunteer organizations and members of the local community.
"Most people I talked to have walked for eight to ten days, getting to the border," said IOM press officer Olivia Headon. "The Rohingyas have waited up to four days to cross. They said they had nothing to eat or drink after the first few days."
She added some arrivals expressed their desire to find family members who had already crossed into Bangladesh, where first responders from various humanitarian agencies provided food and water.
Several Rohingya explained they had hoped to leave Myanmar sooner, but had to wait to harvest and sell their grain to raise funds for their journey, Headon explained. "One man told me he had to pay someone to carry his elderly mother."
Others continue to arrive in the southern Cox's Bazar district. On Wednesday, a group of 42 traveling by boat - mostly women and children - capsized. Four persons including a minor perished, having been caught by the boat propeller and died from their injuries and drowning.
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The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR said it was providing urgent aid and shelter for the Rohingya refugees who arrived in Bangladesh on Wednesday and Thursday.
UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told the media in Geneva that according to Border Guard Bangladesh around 3,000 refugees had arrived through Anjuman Para border crossing between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
Action Contre la Faim sent food and Unicef distributed water from a boat, while Médecins Sans Frontières identified and brought in people who needed urgent medical attention.
The UNHCR distributed tokens for relief supplies to be collected further inland when they find a place to settle, Baloch said.
As of Friday morning, more than 2,000 of the newly arrived refugees have moved towards UNHCR’s transit centre near Kutupalong camp, including some vulnerable refugees who were taken by bus, the press release read.
At the transit centre, the new arrivals were given health checks, food, water and basic supplies for a few days, before they are relocated to Kutupalong Refugee Camp extension site.
More than 600,000 Rohingya have already entered Bangladesh since late August after the Myanmar military launched, what it called ‘clearance operation’ in response to insurgent attacks on security forces.
The number of refugees continues to grow daily. The speed and scale of the influx has made it the world’s fastest growing refugee crisis.
Meanwhile, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Volker Türk arrived in Bangladesh on Friday morning with plans to visit refugee settlements in Cox’s Bazar and meet Bangladeshi authorities in Dhaka.
Türk concluded his visit to Myanmar earlier on Wednesday, during which he reiterated UN calls for unrestricted humanitarian access to all communities in need in Rakhine State.
During his visit in Myanmar, Türk also stressed the right of return of refugees who fled from Rakhine State to Bangladesh over recent weeks and appealed for their safe, voluntary, and sustainable return home.
Traumatized, hungry and fearing for their lives, the Rohingyas had camped out in the open in an area of no man's land between the two countries. They crossed at low tide where they were met by Bangladeshi border guards.
Early Thursday morning, the Rohingyas, many of them vulnerable women and children who had been walking for days, crossed into Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district assisted by the border authorities. Some 1,400 crossed to a transit area to be registered.
The Rohingyas are fleeing the violence, which has convulsed their communities in Northern Rakhine state since late August. The Rohingyas join over 820,000 already living in some safety in Cox's Bazar, where over 607,320 have arrived since 25 August.
Overnight, a further 2,000 fleeing Rohingyas reached the crossing point and were assisted by the Bangladeshi authorities. They were being assisted by local authorities and medical services, including vaccinations, were being provided, along with screening by humanitarian organizations for those Rohingyas judged to be extremely vulnerable so that they could receive timely specialized assistance.
The UN Migration Agency, IOM runs a reception area at Balukhali in Cox's Bazar. There, emergency assistance was being provided in cooperation with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and UNWOMEN along with various local volunteer organizations and members of the local community.
"Most people I talked to have walked for eight to ten days, getting to the border," said IOM press officer Olivia Headon. "The Rohingyas have waited up to four days to cross. They said they had nothing to eat or drink after the first few days."
She added some arrivals expressed their desire to find family members who had already crossed into Bangladesh, where first responders from various humanitarian agencies provided food and water.
Several Rohingya explained they had hoped to leave Myanmar sooner, but had to wait to harvest and sell their grain to raise funds for their journey, Headon explained. "One man told me he had to pay someone to carry his elderly mother."
Others continue to arrive in the southern Cox's Bazar district. On Wednesday, a group of 42 traveling by boat - mostly women and children - capsized. Four persons including a minor perished, having been caught by the boat propeller and died from their injuries and drowning.
===========
The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR said it was providing urgent aid and shelter for the Rohingya refugees who arrived in Bangladesh on Wednesday and Thursday.
UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told the media in Geneva that according to Border Guard Bangladesh around 3,000 refugees had arrived through Anjuman Para border crossing between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
Action Contre la Faim sent food and Unicef distributed water from a boat, while Médecins Sans Frontières identified and brought in people who needed urgent medical attention.
The UNHCR distributed tokens for relief supplies to be collected further inland when they find a place to settle, Baloch said.
As of Friday morning, more than 2,000 of the newly arrived refugees have moved towards UNHCR’s transit centre near Kutupalong camp, including some vulnerable refugees who were taken by bus, the press release read.
At the transit centre, the new arrivals were given health checks, food, water and basic supplies for a few days, before they are relocated to Kutupalong Refugee Camp extension site.
More than 600,000 Rohingya have already entered Bangladesh since late August after the Myanmar military launched, what it called ‘clearance operation’ in response to insurgent attacks on security forces.
The number of refugees continues to grow daily. The speed and scale of the influx has made it the world’s fastest growing refugee crisis.
Meanwhile, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Volker Türk arrived in Bangladesh on Friday morning with plans to visit refugee settlements in Cox’s Bazar and meet Bangladeshi authorities in Dhaka.
Türk concluded his visit to Myanmar earlier on Wednesday, during which he reiterated UN calls for unrestricted humanitarian access to all communities in need in Rakhine State.
During his visit in Myanmar, Türk also stressed the right of return of refugees who fled from Rakhine State to Bangladesh over recent weeks and appealed for their safe, voluntary, and sustainable return home.
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