Bangladesh recovers 34 bodies of refugees fleeing war-torn Myanmar

DHAKA (AFP): The bodies of 34 Rohingya refugees, who fled war-torn Myanmar only to drown when their overcrowded boat sank while crossing a river to Bangladesh, have been recovered, a top local government official said Thursday.

Other refugees fleeing the bitter conflict described grim scenes of “bloodshed” as thousands tried to escape.

The boat sank on Tuesday, when the bodies of 10 people — including young children — were initially recovered.

But more have since washed ashore, taking the total killed to 34.

Police said the group had fled their villages in Myanmar’s Rakhine state and their small craft sank in the Naf river, near Bangladesh’s Shahpari Island.

Adnan Chowdhury, the government administrator of Bangladesh’s Teknaf border town, said the boat was carrying Muslim Rohingya from Myanmar.

Local councillor Abdus Salam said the bodies were being buried.

“The Rohingya people were fleeing with their lives from Myanmar,” he said.

At least 1,000 Rohingya have fled the war in Myanmar’s Rakhine state to Bangladesh in the past few weeks, Chowdhury said.

Clashes have rocked Rakhine since the Arakan Army (AA) attacked junta forces in November, ending a ceasefire that had largely held since a military coup in 2021.

Bangladesh is home to around one million Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled Rakhine in 2017 after a military crackdown now the subject of a genocide investigation at a United Nations court.

Abdul Kalam, 35, a Rohingya refugee, arrived on a different boat on Wednesday after fleeing the Rakhine town of Maungdaw and said thousands were trying to escape.

“Arakan Army were killing us… they want to kick us out of Rakhine,” he said. “I saw much bloodshed. They are killing Rohingya.”

Chowdhury said the recovery of the bodies had been delayed by unrest in Bangladesh after weeks of student-led protests ousted the prime minister on Monday.

“We could not send our security officers to the accident spot, as they were busy containing political clashes,” Chowdhury told AFP.