UNHCR says two shipwrecks on Might 9 and 10 could possibly be the ‘deadliest tragedy at sea’ involving Rohingya up to now this 12 months.
At the very least 427 Rohingya, Myanmar’s Muslim minority, might have perished at sea in two shipwrecks on Might 9 and 10, the United Nations stated, in what can be one other lethal incident for the persecuted group.
The UN Excessive Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) stated in a press release on Friday that – if confirmed – the 2 incidents can be the “deadliest tragedy at sea” involving Rohingya refugees up to now this 12 months.
“The UN refugee company is gravely involved about stories of two boat tragedies off the coast of Myanmar earlier this month,” UNHCR stated within the assertion, including that it was nonetheless working to substantiate the precise circumstances surrounding the shipwrecks.
In line with the company, preliminary info indicated {that a} vessel carrying 267 folks sank on Might 9, with solely 66 folks surviving, and a second ship with 247 Rohingya on board capsized on Might 10, with simply 21 survivors.
The Rohingya on board had been both leaving Bangladesh’s enormous Cox’s Bazar refugee camps or fleeing Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine, the assertion stated.
Persecuted in Myanmar for many years, hundreds of Rohingya danger their lives yearly to flee repression and civil struggle of their nation, typically going to sea on board makeshift boats.
In a publish on X, UNHCR Excessive Commissioner Filippo Grandi stated information of the double tragedy was “a reminder of the determined scenario” of the Rohingya “and of the hardship confronted by refugees in Bangladesh as humanitarian help dwindles”.
In 2017, greater than one million Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh from Myanmar’s Rakhine State following a brutal crackdown by Myanmar’s navy.
At the very least 180,000 of those that fled are actually dealing with deportation again to Myanmar whereas those that stayed behind in Rakhine have endured dire situations confined to refugee camps.
In 2021, the military launched a coup in Myanmar, ousting the elected authorities led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Since then, Rakhine has been the scene of fierce preventing between the navy and the Arakan Military, an ethnic minority insurgent group, for management of the state amid a widening civil struggle within the nation.
“The dire humanitarian scenario, exacerbated by funding cuts, is having a devastating influence on the lives of Rohingya, with an increasing number of resorting to harmful journeys to hunt security, safety and a dignified life for themselves and their households,” stated Hai Kyung Jun, who leads UNHCR’s regional bureau for Asia and the Pacific.
In 2024, some 657 Rohingya died within the area’s waters, in line with UNHCR.
Humanitarian organisations have been hit exhausting by funding cuts from main donors, led by the USA administration of President Donald Trump and different Western nations, as they prioritise defence spending prompted by rising fears of Russia and China.
UNHCR is in search of monetary assist to stabilise the lives of Rohingya refugees in host nations, together with Bangladesh, and people displaced inside Myanmar.
Its request for $383m for assist in 2025 is presently solely 30 % funded, the company stated.
