By The Irrawaddy
YANGON – At least 90 percent of the Rohingya population
of conflict-torn northern Rakhine State has fled to neighboring Bangladesh in
the wake of the government’s clearance operations following Muslim militant
attacks last year, according to The Irrawaddy’s calculations based on
government and INGOs’ statistics.
Following the attacks in August, majority-Muslim Maungdaw
and Buthidaung townships, as well as nearby Rathedaung township, all in
northern Rakhine State, saw an exodus of Rohingya to refugee camps in the
neighboring country. Rohingya in the camps have recounted arbitrary killings,
rapes and arson by Myanmar security forces.
The Irrawaddy analyzed recent updated regional statistics
reports from the General Administrative Department for the three townships. The
reports are dated October 2017. The GAD is under the military-controlled Ministry
of Home Affairs.
Along with the GAD reports, The Irrawaddy’s tally also
takes into account figures on the number of Rohingya in Bangladeshi camps
collected by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs. OCHA said that between Aug. 25 and Jan. 27, 688,000 new arrivals were
registered.
Only 79,000 Rohingya remain
The GAD reports on Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung
put the total Rohingya population before the latest crisis at 767,038. A senior
official from Maungdaw District’s General Administration Department told The
Irrawaddy that the statistics were collected in 2016. The official spoke on
condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media. (Maungdaw
District comprises Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships.)
A comparison of the GAD’s population figures with OCHA’s
camp registration numbers shows that around 90 percent of the Rohingya
population fled into Bangladesh and merely 10 percent (79,038) remained in the
three townships in western Myanmar. That 90 percent does not include people who
died, went missing or were arrested.
While the reports were dated October 2017, they do not
include figures on people with internally displaced person (IDP) status,
Rohingya fatalities, Hindu or Rakhine victims, or damage caused by both
military and security officials. The Myanmar Army, or Tatmadaw, announced on
Aug. 31 that it had killed 370 suspected militants of the Arakan Rohingya
Salvation Army.
According to the GAD’s numbers, Rohingya accounted for 93
percent of the Maungdaw population, and 84 percent in Buthidaung. The number
was significantly lower in Rathedaung Township, at just 6 percent.
Muslim militants’ attacks also displaced nearly 30,000
non-Muslims in Maungdaw district — mainly from the Mro, Thet and Daingnet
Arakanese sub-ethnic groups, as well as Hindus. However, the majority of the
displaced non-Muslims including Buddhists have already arrived back in
Maungdaw, while hundreds of Hindu IDPs await government resettlement.
To get a clearer idea of the population ratios of
Rakhine, Rohingya and Hindu groups before Aug. 25, see the following
infographic pie chart created by The Irrawaddy, accompanied by footage of the
exodus originally posted on OCHA’s website.
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| Rakhines in Red, Rohingya in Blue & Hindu in Yellow |
Thousands of new Rohingya refugees arrive in
Bangladesh https://youtu.be/vMJ49mxMYs0
via @YouTube