Food
insecurity increased following 'security incidents and ensuing violence in late
2016' WFP said.
By Ludovica Iaccino
July 17, 2017
At least 85,000
children from the Muslim Rohingya minority are dying of hunger in the western
part of Myanmar, the World Food Programme has claimed.
The report was
published after the UN agency conducted interviews across villages in Rakhine
state, largely inhabited by Rohingya.
Earlier this year,
thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled due to crackdown by Burmese authorities. The
crackdown followed a series of coordinated and deadly attacks on police border
posts, which the government had blamed on sympathisers of the religious
minority.
Those who remained
are now facing a food crisis exacerbated by restrictions on freedom of movement
and limited access to essential services.
Households most
affected by food shortages are in the Maungdaw district, which the report said
is among the most vulnerable and chronically food-insecure areas of the
country.
WFP estimated that
Maungdaw is home to about 880,000 people, of whom 158,500 are children under
the age of five. At least 38,000 households, or 225,800 people, are suffering
from hunger in the district.
"It is
estimated that 80,500 children under the age of five are expected to be in need
of treatment for acute malnutrition over the next twelve months" WFP said.
"The survey has
confirmed a worsening of the food security situation in already highly
vulnerable areas following the security incidents and ensuing violence in late
2016."
Persecution
of Rohingya Muslims
The 1.3 million
Rohingya in Myanmar (also known as Burma) are regarded as stateless people and
unwelcome migrants from Bangladesh. They live in segregated conditions in
Rakhine state. They have been dubbed one of the world's most persecuted ethnic
minorities.
After government
troops were deployed in Rakhine last October, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released
images purportedly showing 1,250 destroyed buildings in three villages in the
state.
The rights group
accused government forces of raiding Rohingya villages and carrying out
extrajudicial killings, and called for an UN-assisted investigation.
Myanmar's new
administration, led by Nobel Peace Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi, dismissed the
allegations of violence against the Rohingya and accused international media of
misreporting the situation in Rakhine.
In June, Burmese
authorities refused entry to UN investigators who wanted to conduct an
investigation into allegations of violence, rape and torture against Rohingya
Muslims.