The death toll from the violence that erupted on Friday with coordinated attacks by Rohingya insurgents has climbed to 98, including 80 insurgents and 12 members of the security forces, the government said. The clashes, the worst since at least October, have prompted the government to evacuate staff and thousands of non-Muslim villagers from the area. Win Myat Aye, Myanmar’s minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement, said late on Saturday that 4,000 “ethnic villagers” who had fled their villages had been evacuated, referring to non-Muslim residents of the area. Bracing for more violence, thousands of Rohingya – mostly women and children – were trying to forge the Naf river separating Myanmar and Bangladesh and the land border as gunfire could be heard from the Myanmar side, Bangladesh border guards said. Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said it was concerned that thousands of “unarmed Myanmar nationals” had assembled near the border to enter the country.

Source: The Guardian August 27, 2017 05:48 UTC