Thousands of Rohingya flee Myanmar violence

Horrifying stories of gang rape, torture and murder are emerging from among the thousands of desperate Rohingya migrants who have pushed into Bangladesh in the past few days to escape unfolding chaos in Myanmar.

Bangladesh has resisted urgent international appeals to open its border to avert a humanitarian crisis, instead telling Myanmar it must do more to prevent the stateless Muslim minority from entering.
The scale of human suffering was becoming clear Thursday, as desperate people like Mohammad Ayaz told how troops attacked his village and killed his pregnant wife.
Cradling his two-year-old son, he said military men killed at least 300 men in the village market and gang-raped dozens of women before setting fire to around 300 houses, Muslim-owned shops and the mosque where he served as imam.
“They shot dead my wife, Jannatun Naim. She was 25 and seven months pregnant. I took refuge at a canal with my two-year-old son, who was hit by a rifle butt,” Ayaz said pointing to a cut on the boy’s forehead.
Ayaz sold his watch and shoes to pay for the journey and has taken shelter along with at least 200 of his neighbours at a camp for unregistered Rohingya refugees.

World Bulletin / News Desk