Boat tragedy claims lives of Rohingya fleeing Myanmar

By Dildar Baykan

ANKARA (AA) – The death toll from Sunday's boat disaster in the Naf River has reached 23, Bangladeshi officials said Tuesday.

The vessel -- carrying Rohingya Muslims, who attempted to flee to Bangladesh from Myanmar -- sank near Shah Porir Dwip on the Naf River late on Sunday, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Thirteen people were rescued by border guards on Sunday, while 12 were confirmed dead. Police recovered eleven more bodies of Rohingya Muslims on Tuesday, Bangladeshi media quoted Teknaf Police Station official Moinuddin Khan.

Rescue and search efforts for remaining 14 Rohingya Muslims are ongoing.

In another tragedy last month, at least 23 Rohingya died when their boat overturned near Inani beach close to Bangladesh's Cox’s Bazar city.

The refugees are fleeing a military operation in Myanmar amid which security forces and Buddhist mobs have killed men, women and children, looted homes and torched Rohingya villages.

Since Aug. 25, when the military launched a crackdown against Rohingya militants, 515,000 Rohingya have crossed from Myanmar's western state of Rakhine into Bangladesh, according to the UN.

According to Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali, around 3,000 Rohingya have been killed in the crackdown.

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

Last October, following attacks on border posts in Maungdaw district, security forces launched a five-month crackdown in which, according to Rohingya groups, around 400 people were killed.