"There were 12 to 13 Rohingya in each of the boats," Zahid said. At least 30,000 have been internally displaced in Rakhine and many have tried to reach Bangladesh over the last month despite heightened border patrols, and sought refugee amongst the Rohingya refugee population that already live on the Bangladesh side. Samira Akhter told AFP by phone that she reached an unofficial refugee camp in Bangladesh on Monday, after fleeing her village in Rakhine state with her three children and 49 others. Dudu Mia, a Rohingya leader in the camp, said at least 1,338 had arrived in the community since mid October. A UN official said last week Myanmar is engaged in "ethnic cleansing" of Rohingya Muslims, as reports emerged of troops shooting at villagers as they tried to flee.

Source: The Nation Bangkok November 28, 2016 08:07 UTC