SITTWE, Myanmar (Reuters) - A human rights group expressed concern for the safety of thousands of Muslims on Saturday after revealing satellite images of a once-thriving coastal community reduced to ashes during a week of violence in western Myanmar.
The images released
by the New York-based Human Rights Watch show "near total destruction"
of a predominantly Rohingya Muslim part of Kyaukpyu, one of several
areas in Rakhine state where battles between Rohingyas and ethnic
Rakhine Buddhists threaten to derail the former Burma's fragile
democratic transition.
More than 811 buildings and houseboats were razed in Kyaukpyu on
October 24, forcing many Rohingya to flee north by sea toward the state
capital Sittwe, said Human Rights Watch.
"Burma's government urgently needs to provide security for the Rohingya in Arakan (Rakhine) State, who are under vicious attack," said Phil Robertson, the group's deputy Asia director.
"Burma's government urgently needs to provide security for the Rohingya in Arakan (Rakhine) State, who are under vicious attack," said Phil Robertson, the group's deputy Asia director.
There were widespread
unconfirmed reports of boatloads of Rohingyas trying to cross the sea
border to neighbouring Bangladesh, which has denied them refugee status
since 1992.
Dozens of boats full of Rohingyas with no food or
water had fled Kyaukpyu, an industrial zone important to China, and
other recent hotspots were seeking access on Friday to overcrowded
refugee camps around the state capital Sittwe, according to four
Rohingya refugee sources.
Source: The Star...More...
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