22,000 displaced as Myanmar religious strife festers, says UN
Source: Agencies |
October 29, 2012, Monday
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VICTIMS of Myanmar's latest explosion of Muslim-Buddhist violence fled to already packed displacement camps along the country's western coast as a top United Nations official said yesterday the unrest has forced more than 22,000 people from their homes.
Wooden boats carrying some of those on the move arrived outside the Rakhine state capital, Sittwe. They trudged to the nearby Thechaung camp, a place already home to thousands of Rohingya Muslims who took refuge there after a previous wave of violence in June.
"I fled my hometown Pauktaw on Friday because there is no security at all," said 42-year-old fisherman Maung Myint, who arrived on a boat carrying 40 other people, including his wife and six children. "My house was burned to ashes and I have no money left."
Another Muslim refugee said she fled her village, Kyaukphyu, on Thursday after attackers set her home on fire.
"We don't feel safe," said 40-year old Zainabi, a fish-seller who left with her two sons, aged 12 and 14. "I wish the violence would stop so we can live peacefully."
Human Rights Watch released dramatic satellite imagery of Kyaukphyu on Saturday showing a vast, predominantly Rohingya swath of the village in ashes. The destruction included more than 800 buildings and barges.
Myanmar's government has put the death toll at 67 over the last week, saying 95 more people were injured from Sunday through Thursday in seven townships in Rakhine state.
Border Affairs Minister Lieutenant General Thein Htay traveled to the affected areas with the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar, Ashok Nigam, who said 22,587 were displaced and they included both Muslims and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. He gave no breakdown.
Some 4,600 homes were also destroyed, according to the UN which said in a separate statement that it had begun distributing emergency food and shelter supplies with its humanitarian partners to refugees in urgent need of help.
The latest unrest pushes the total displaced to nearly 100,000 since clashes broke out in June.
Nigam said getting aid to the new wave of displaced will be a challenge as some fled on boat and others have sought refuge on isolated hilltops.
"The situation is certainly very grave and we are working with the government to provide urgent aid to these people," he said.
Ill will between Muslims and Buddhists in Rakhine state goes back decades and has its roots in a dispute over the Muslim Rohingya's origins. Although many Rohingya have lived in Myanmar for generations, they are seen as foreign intruders who came from Bangladesh to steal scarce land.
Wooden boats carrying some of those on the move arrived outside the Rakhine state capital, Sittwe. They trudged to the nearby Thechaung camp, a place already home to thousands of Rohingya Muslims who took refuge there after a previous wave of violence in June.
"I fled my hometown Pauktaw on Friday because there is no security at all," said 42-year-old fisherman Maung Myint, who arrived on a boat carrying 40 other people, including his wife and six children. "My house was burned to ashes and I have no money left."
Another Muslim refugee said she fled her village, Kyaukphyu, on Thursday after attackers set her home on fire.
"We don't feel safe," said 40-year old Zainabi, a fish-seller who left with her two sons, aged 12 and 14. "I wish the violence would stop so we can live peacefully."
Human Rights Watch released dramatic satellite imagery of Kyaukphyu on Saturday showing a vast, predominantly Rohingya swath of the village in ashes. The destruction included more than 800 buildings and barges.
Myanmar's government has put the death toll at 67 over the last week, saying 95 more people were injured from Sunday through Thursday in seven townships in Rakhine state.
Border Affairs Minister Lieutenant General Thein Htay traveled to the affected areas with the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar, Ashok Nigam, who said 22,587 were displaced and they included both Muslims and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. He gave no breakdown.
Some 4,600 homes were also destroyed, according to the UN which said in a separate statement that it had begun distributing emergency food and shelter supplies with its humanitarian partners to refugees in urgent need of help.
The latest unrest pushes the total displaced to nearly 100,000 since clashes broke out in June.
Nigam said getting aid to the new wave of displaced will be a challenge as some fled on boat and others have sought refuge on isolated hilltops.
"The situation is certainly very grave and we are working with the government to provide urgent aid to these people," he said.
Ill will between Muslims and Buddhists in Rakhine state goes back decades and has its roots in a dispute over the Muslim Rohingya's origins. Although many Rohingya have lived in Myanmar for generations, they are seen as foreign intruders who came from Bangladesh to steal scarce land.
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