Bangladesh Blocks Entry of 100 Rohingya Refugees at Naf River

Arakan, MINA – Bangladesh Border Guards (BGB) have prevented around 100 Rohingya Muslim refugees from crossing the Naf River from Myanmar’s western Rakhine State into Bangladeshi territory.

The refugees were forced back into the middle of the river and remained stranded as of Sunday morning, amid heavy monsoon rains and deteriorating health and living conditions.

Local sources told the Arakan News Agency (ANA) that the Rohingya refugees including women, children, the sick, and the elderly were transported on July 25 by motorboats from Buthidaung town in Rakhine State to Jaliadwip Island.

The source added that a group affiliated with the Arakan Army (AA) separatists handled the transport in exchange for a payment of 700,000 Myanmar kyats per person. The group reportedly forced the refugees toward Bangladeshi waters without any protection in the early hours of July 26.

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As the refugees attempted to cross, they were intercepted by Bangladeshi border guards, who denied them entry and pushed them back into the river.

The refugees spent the night without shelter, food, or medical care, with reports of disease outbreaks particularly affecting children and the elderly. [Nia]

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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