Rohingya Minority in Firing Line as Rebels Attack Western Myanmar Town
Editor
2 July 2024 21:25 WIB
'IT ALL LOOKS BLEAK'
Abdur and another Rohingya man still inside Maungdaw described a shifting frontline spanning the town and nearby villages in bitter fighting between the AA and junta troops. The junta has accused the AA of using armed drones in the area.
After sustaining the injuries on June 19, Abdur said he rested at a relative's house in the town and left for Bangladesh on a boat with seven other people the next night.
"I never thought of leaving my village, not even in 2017," he said, "I don't see any future for us. It all looks bleak."
Inside Maungdaw, the local population has been forced to stay indoors, according to the resident still living there, who said he recently moved from the center of the town to an area under rebel control.
"Many Rohingya are feeling hunger because they do not have enough food," he said, asking not to be named because of fear of reprisals. He did not provide other personal details.
"If anyone goes outside his home, his life is not guaranteed," the man said.
The United Nations World Food Programme said last week that its warehouse in Maungdaw, holding 1,175 metric tons of food and supplies that could sustain 64,000 people for a month, had been looted and burnt down in June.
It did not blame any specific party for the incident.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has also ceased essential services in parts of Rakhine, including Maungdaw, the medical charity said in a June 27 statement.
"This indefinite suspension of our activities will leave them with zero access to healthcare in the face of huge needs," MSF said.
REUTERS
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