BBC
Accessibility links
Skip to contentAccessibility Help
Sign in
BBC navigation
Menu
Search
News navigation Sections
Asia
Rohingya crisis: Exodus swells 'as 270,000 flee Myanmar'
8 September 2017
Share this with Facebook Share this with Twitter Share
Rohingya refugees carry their child as they walk through water after crossing border by boat through the Naf River in Teknaf, Bangladesh, 7 September 2017Image copyrightREUTERS
Image caption
Rohingya families have been making difficult and dangerous journeys to get to Bangladesh
About 270,000 Rohingya Muslims have sought shelter in Bangladesh since violence erupted in Myanmar two weeks ago, the UN says.
A spokeswoman said the jump - up from 164,000 on Thursday - was because new pockets of people had been found.
She called the figure "so alarming" and said urgent action was needed to address the situation in Myanmar.
Those fleeing say Myanmar's military are burning their villages and attacking them.
The violence began on 25 August when Rohingya militants attacked police posts in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state.
Rohingya residents - a stateless mostly Muslim minority in a Buddhist-majority nation - say the military and Rakhine Buddhists responded with a brutal campaign against them.
Myanmar rejects this, saying its military is fighting against Rohingya militants.
Media captionWatch: Who are the Rohingya?
For two weeks, Rohingya families have been streaming north across the Bangladesh border.
Vivian Tan, a spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency UNHCR, said the latest surge in numbers "does not necessarily reflect fresh arrivals within the past 24 hours but that we have identified more people in different areas that we were not aware of before".
Existing refugee camps are full and people who had crossed the border were setting up shelters "on the roads or whatever empty space they could find", she said. They were "exhausted, hungry and desperate for shelter", a UNHCR briefing note said.
Why won't Aung San Suu Kyi act?
Tales of horror from Rohingya who fled
BBC reporter: 'A Muslim village was burning'
Myanmar conflict: The view from Yangon
Some are trekking to the Naf River, which forms the border, and others are sailing up the coast. At least 300 Rohingya boats arrived in Cox's Bazar, in Bangladesh, on Wednesday, the UN's migration body said.
In this photo taken on September 7, 2017, armed Myanmar police patrol fields near Maungdaw in the northern Rakhine state in northern MyanmarImage copyrightAFP
Image caption
Myanmar security forces say they are fighting Muslim insurgents
The Rohingya plight is sparking concern and protests in many nations, and Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been criticised for failing to protect them.
On Thursday, South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu, one of the leading figures in the anti-apartheid struggle, added his voice, saying: "If the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar is your silence, the price is surely too steep."
He urged Ms Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate who spent years under house arrest for her pro-democracy activism, "to speak out for justice, human rights and the unity of your people".
There are calls for her Nobel Peace Prize to be withdrawn, but Nobel committee chair Berit Reiss-Andersen said that was not possible.
Speaking on Norwegian radio, she said Ms Suu Kyi won the prize because of her "role as a freedom fighter in Myanmar and against the military dictatorship".
"And we do not have the mandate, nor is it our task to evaluate what Nobel laureates do after they have won the prize," she said.
Malala calls for defence of Rohingya
Rohingya militants - who are they?
What sparked latest violence in Rakhine?
Fake photos inflame tension
Earlier in the week, Ms Suu Kyi - who faces strong anti-Rohingya sentiment in Myanmar - claimed the crisis in Rakhine state was being distorted by a "huge iceberg of misinformation".
She subsequently said that Myanmar had "to take care of everybody who is in our country, whether or not they are our citizens", and said Myanmar would "try our best" despite inadequate resources.
Those who have fled northern Rakhine state bring tales of village burnings, beatings and killings at the hands of the security forces and Buddhist youths.
Ms Suu Kyi's government says it is the Rohingya militants and the Muslim villagers themselves who are burning their own homes and attacking non-Muslims.
But a BBC reporter in Rakhine state on Thursday saw a Muslim village being burned, apparently by a group of Rakhine Buddhists, contradicting the official narrative.
Related Topics
Aung San Suu KyiMyanmar
Share this story About sharing
Email
Facebook
Messenger
Twitter
Pinterest
WhatsApp
LinkedIn
More on this story
BBC reporter in Rakhine: 'A Muslim village was burning'
7 September 2017
Video In the jungle with refugees
4 September 2017
Myanmar conflict: Fake photos inflame tension
2 September 2017
What sparked latest violence?
4 September 2017
Myanmar: Who are the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army?
6 September 2017
MPs urge UK to help Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims
5 September 2017
Asia
Bangladeshi woman
Video
Video
Bangladeshis count losses after floods
9 September 2017
From the section Asia
Full article Bangladeshis count losses after floods
The two-part surgery
Doctors remove seven teeth from infant
8 September 2017
From the section India
Full article Doctors remove seven teeth from infant
A relief camp in Muzaffarnagar
Families 'not compensated in India riot'
8 September 2017
From the section India
Full article Families 'not compensated in India riot'
More Videos from the BBC
One-minute World News
One-minute World News
Sacked model: 'All white people benefit from racism'
Sacked model: 'All white people benefit from racism'
Prince George starts school in London
Prince George starts school in London
'He touched my back down to my bum'
'He touched my back down to my bum'
India guru rape: Inside huge temple complex
India guru rape: Inside huge temple complex
Who are the Rohingya Muslims?
Who are the Rohingya Muslims?
Recommended by Outbrain
Elsewhere on BBC
Discover Britain's best summer events in July
BBC.com
Discover Britain's best summer events in July
Canada hospital not charged after switching men at birth
BBC News
Canada hospital not charged after switching men at birth
Rohingya crisis: Johnson warns Suu Kyi over Muslim treatment
BBC News
Rohingya crisis: Johnson warns Suu Kyi over Muslim…
Recommended by Outbrain
You Might Also Like
A Prague church that defied Nazi rule
BBC Travel
A Prague church that defied Nazi rule
Why people think Germans are so efficient
BBC Travel
Why people think Germans are so efficient
The last surviving sea silk seamstress
BBC Travel
The last surviving sea silk seamstress
Top Stories
Powerful Hurricane Irma strikes Cuba
Hurricane Hunters fly over eye of storm
Hunt for Mexico quake survivors continues
Features
Irma v Andrew VIDEO
Irma v Andrew: Why this could be worse
Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi attends the funeral service for the National League for Democracy (NLD) party's former chairman Aung Shwe in Yangon on 17 August 2017.
The Rohingya crisis: Why Aung San Suu Kyi won't act
Thursdaline Peter VIDEO
'The thief was big but he left in tears'
Molly's Game
7 screenwriting tips from Aaron Sorkin
President Putin
North Korea crisis: What will Russia do?
Scientists punch holes in a menstrual pad to begin their analysis
Why used sanitary pads are being collected in India
Woman drinking coffee (c) Science Photo Library
Should we embrace an enhanced future?
Anas al-Janabi VIDEO
Can a fairground bring joy to Fallujah?
The Visions In Motion dance group prepares to march down Eastern Parkway for the West Indian American Day Parade in celebration of the Caribbean Carnival in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, on 4 September 2017
Week in pictures
Most Read
1
Hurricane Irma: Cuba hit with strong winds and heavy rain
2
Derby Aida Bliss factory roof-fall boy, 12, dies
3
Hurricane Irma: Stranded couple on 'honeymoon from hell'
4
Seized van in Sandwell had string to operate wipers
5
RideLondon: Pedestrian dies from injuries after race collision
6
Strictly Come Dancing: Susan Calman 'offended' by dance partner row
7
Baby daughter for Sir Chris Hoy and wife Sarra
8
Alcohol-free: Stealth drinking helping people give up alcohol
9
Beware of social media during terror events, NHS guidelines warn
10
Anti-Brexit marchers rally in Parliament Square
From Around the Web
These Celebrity Grandkids Look Exactly Like Their Famous Grandparents
These Celebrity Grandkids Look Exactly Like Their Famous Grandparents
Woman's World
Promoted content by Outbrain
News navigationSections
BBC News Services
On your mobile
On your connected tv
Get news alerts
Contact BBC News
Explore the BBC
Sport
Weather
TV
Radio
CBBC
CBeebies
Food
iWonder
Bitesize
Music
Arts
Make It Digital
Taster
Local
Terms of Use
About the BBC
Privacy Policy
Cookies
Accessibility Help
Parental Guidance
Contact the BBC
Copyright © 2017 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
