Bangladesh: Bangladesh coastguards have found the bodies of 20 Rohingya, many of them children, who drowned when their boats capsized as they fled violence in Myanmar.
The group, mostly women and children from the Rohingya Muslim minority, were trying to escape a recent surge of violence which has seen more than 27,000 flee.
Photographs from the scene showed bodies of several small children lined up on the ground, covered with sheets.
Officials in Bangladesh say a growing number of Rohingya in their attempts to escape are trying to cross the Naf river, that divides the two countries, in dilapidated boats inadequate for the rough waters.
Reports suggest that at least 27,000 Rohingya had crossed into Bangladesh since fighting erupted in Myanmar’s neighbouring Rakhine state six days earlier.
The latest instances of violence in Myanmar began on Friday when Rohingya militants staged deadly attacks on police posts, prompting raids on the community and searches by troops and police.
The violence left at least 110 people dead, including 11 state officials.
Ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and other tribal groups are also among the dead and displaced after allegedly being targeted by Rohingya militants.
An estimated 6,000 more Rohingya are thought to be trapped in an unoccupied zone between Myanmar and Bangladesh border, having fled villages in Myanmar that they say were set on fire by police, troops and Buddhist mobs.
The officials in Bangladesh – which already hosts 400,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar – have been sending hundreds back.
The UN in Bangladesh said on Thursday that some 27,400 were estimated to have crossed the border since Friday, up from 18,000 a day earlier.
