At least 150 Rohingyas, including children, were killed in a drone attack while they were trying to flee the violence-hit Myanmar in the western state of Rakhine. Reports based on several witnesses describe survivors wandering between piles of bodies to identify dead and injured relatives. The drone attack on Monday struck down families waiting to cross the border into neighbouring Bangladesh, as per four witnesses, activists and a diplomat.
The victims include a pregnant woman and her 2-year-old daughter, the woman's husband 35-year-old Mohammed Eleyas claimed. Eleyas said that he was standing with them on the shoreline when drones began attacking the crowds. He said, "I heard the deafening sound of shelling multiple times." Speaking of the ordeal, Eleyas said he lay on the ground to protect himself and when he got up, he saw his wife and daughter critically injured and many of his other relatives dead.
Boat with rohingyas onboard capsizes
Moreover, on Monday, a boat carrying fleeing Rohingya also sank in the Naf River that separates the two Myanmar and Bangladesh. killing dozens more, according to two witnesses and Bangladesh media. The drone attack is the single deadliest known assault on Rakhine state civilians during recent weeks of fighting between Myanmar junta troops and rebel militias.
The militia and Myanmar's military blamed each other for the attack, however, witnesses said that the drone attack was carried out by rebel militias. So far the exact number of deceased has not been established.
Meanwhile, some purported videos of the incident were posted on social media, which showed piles of bodies strewn across muddy ground, their suitcases and backpacks scattered around them. According to three survivors, Reuters reported that more than 200 had died while a witness to the aftermath said he had seen at least 70 bodies. Moreover, the Associated Press reported that Doctors Without Borders, an international medical assistance group in its statement claimed that it has been treating increasing numbers of Rohingyas with violence-related injuries who managed to cross the border into Bangladesh.
Rohingyas in Myanmar
Notably, over 7,30,000 Rohingyas fled the Southeast Asian country in 2017 following a military-led crackdown that the U.N. said was carried out with genocidal intent. In 2021, the junta seized power and deposed democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi. The country has been in turmoil since then.
Rohingya have been leaving Rakhine for weeks as the Arakan Army, one of many armed militias, has made sweeping gains in the north, home to a large population of Muslims. Earlier it was reported that the militia burned down the largest Rohingya town in May, leaving Maungdaw, which is under siege by the rebels, as the last major Rohingya settlement aside from grim displacement camps further south. However, the group has denied the allegations.
(With agencies inputs)
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