Myanmar government has evacuated at least 4,000 non-Muslim villagers amid ongoing clashes in northwestern Rakhine state, the government said, while thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled across the border to Bangladesh. The clashes, the worst since at least October, have prompted the government to evacuate staff and thousands of non-Muslim villagers from the area. The ministry is arranging facilities for non-Muslims in places including Buddhist monasteries, government offices and local police stations in major cities. 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: Dhaka Tribune August 27, 2017 04:41 UTC