Fighting in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state has forced 422,000 Rohingyas to seek refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh, where unofficial shelters have sprung up outside of two government-run camps. "That leaves them potentially at the mercy of anyone offering help and they may end up as victims of trafficking." Rohingya seeking to escape persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar have been trafficked or smuggled by road and sea to places like Thailand and Malaysia in the past. In 2015, a crackdown by Thai authorities on human trafficking activities saw migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh abandoned at sea by smugglers. The violence in western Myanmar began on Aug 25 when Rohingya insurgents attacked about 30 police posts and an army camp, killing about 12 people.

Source: bd News24 September 20, 2017 15:22 UTC