97 Rohingyas killed so far in bid to reach Bangladesh

Dhaka, Sep 13 (IANS) Bangladeshi authorities on Wednesday recovered the corpses of nine Rohingyas, including three women and three children, from the River Naf, that separates Bangladesh and Myanmar.

The latest deaths raised to 97 the toll of Rohingya refugees who have died while crossing over to Bangladesh, fleeing ongoing violence in the conflict-torn Rakhine state in Myanmar, through the river route, Cox's Bazar District's Intelligence Officer Provas Chandra Dhar said.

"Since last night nine bodies were recovered from the river (...) Two to three of them had marks of bullet wound, rest of them died when their boat sank," an official told Efe news, adding that the boats likely sank two or three days ago.

At least 370,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh in the past three weeks to escape an ongoing violent military offensive in the Rakhine state in northwest Myanmar after the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) rebels attacked multiple government posts in the state on August 25.

Meanwhile, the ARSA announced a month-long ceasefire last Saturday to allow the entry of humanitarian aid, which the Myanmar government rejected.

The latest Rohingya exodus follows a similar wave last year in October, when a similar insurgent attack on border posts had led to an aggressive military offensive in the region resulting in the exodus of more than 80,000 Rohingyas.

Before the current crisis erupted, between 300,000 and 500,000 Rohingyas were living in Bangladesh, out of whom only 32,000 enjoy refugee status and live concentrated in refugee camps in Cox's Bazar district in southeastern Bangladesh.