Security forces in
Buddhist-majority Myanmar launched a massive crackdown in the state after
Rohingya insurgents killed nine police in October, but the flow of refugees
into Bangladesh had slowed until hundreds more soldiers were deployed recently.
"Security
forces are patrolling the villages daily," said Rahim, a teacher from Dar
Gyi Zar village in Myanmar who fled to Bangladesh last year, but remains in
touch with family members.
"My mother is
73 and is panicking there, but she won't be able to flee," said Rahim, who
uses one name, like many Rohingya.
"No one will be
allowed to illegally cross into our country," Manuzurul Hasan Khan, a
senior Bangladesh border guard official, told Reuters, adding that the two
countries were jointly patrolling frontier areas.
There had been no
major influx recently, he said, adding that the border was peaceful, with more
joint patrols scheduled for this week.
However, Rahim and a
Rohingya leader in Bangladesh put the total of new refugees at more than 1,000.
There had been a
constant "slow movement of people across the border," a senior U.N.
official in Bangladesh said.
About 1,000
households had crossed each month in April, May and June, estimated the
official, who declined to be identified in the absence of authorisation to talk
to the media.
The figure rose to
1,300 households in July, the official said, adding that the border area was
"definitely seeing more new arrivals" in August.
About 500 of the
newly arrived Rohingya live near an unofficial refugee camp in Leda, near the
Naf river separating Bangladesh from Myanmar, said Zayed, a Rohingya leader.
The rest have moved
elsewhere in the border district of Cox's Bazar.
Before the latest
inflow, about 75,000 Rohinhya had fled to Bangladesh since October, joining
tens of thousands already there and straining resources.
Some families were
packing up to leave, fearing another violent crackdown, a Rohingya resident of
Maungdaw in Myanmar told Reuters.
"People here
are feeling depressed and getting so scared, hearing that more troops are
coming to do area clearance again," the resident said on Saturday, seeking
anonymity for fear of repercussions.
"We have no one
to protect us here."
The resident and a
human rights monitor with sources in northern Rakhine said security forces had
run intensive searches and arrested some Rohingya men.
Kyaw Swar Tun, an
administrator in the Rakhine state capital of Sittwe, said security had been
stepped up in the state's north, but denied that Muslims were fleeing across
the border.
"I don't hear
anything of Bengali people leaving or entering the country during these
days," he said, using a derogatory term for the Rohingya to imply they are
interlopers from Bangladesh.
The treatment of the
roughly one million Rohingya in Myanmar has emerged as the country's most
contentious human rights issue as it transitions from decades of harsh military
rule.
Myanmar denies
citizenship to the Rohingya and classifies them as illegal immigrants, though
they claim roots there dating back centuries.
Myanmar security
forces continue to harrass Rohingya in Rakhine, said Noor Bashar, 26, who fled
to Cox's Bazar last week.
"Many more are
still waiting to enter Bangladesh but it's difficult, due to the increased
patrolling," she told Reuters.
Source: https://reut.rs/2vG6ATy