The U.N. refugee agency is reporting a surge in the number of Rohingya Muslims who have crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar, with an estimated 270,000 arriving in the last two weeks.
The new number confirmed Friday by UNHCR spokeswoman Vivian Tan marks a major increase from the 164,000 estimated Thursday to have arrived since Aug. 25.
“This does not necessarily reflect fresh arrivals within the past 24 hours but that we have identified more people in different areas that we were not aware of before,” she said.
“The numbers are so alarming — it really means that we have to step up our response and that the situation in Myanmar has to be addressed urgently,” she said.
The exodus began after Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts, prompting the military to respond with “clearance operations” to root out any fighters hiding in villages of Rakhine state.
Journalists have reported seeing village homes burning as recently as Thursday in the region of Buddhist-majority Myanmar
Read More UN: 270,000 Rohingya Fled to Bangladesh in Two Weeks : http://ift.tt/2jabIeb
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