Rohingya Insurgents Declare Month-Long Ceasefire in Myanmar

The truce comes as Rohingya refugees continue to flood Bangladesh, only to face scant resources, hunger & illness.

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. 

(Photo: Bernat Armangue/AP)

Rohingya insurgents, whose attack on Myanmar security forces last month triggered savage military reprisals, declared a month-long truce on Sunday, 10 September, as refugees continued to flood across the border into Bangladesh only to face scant basic resources, hunger and illness.

The Muslim insurgents of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army issued the truce statement on its Twitter account and urged Myanmar's government to reciprocate in order to assist all victims regardless of their background.

Also Read: India Must Not Be Seen As Uncaring About Rohingyas

The government did not comment immediately.

The rebels, who say they're fighting to protect their minority members against government-sponsored persecution, launched their first known attacks last October and again on 25 August.

According to Rohingya refugees, the military responded with indiscriminate killings, burning entire villages and forcing tens of thousands to flee.

The government said most of the 400 dead were "terrorists."

The UN said on Saturday that an estimated 290,000 Rohingya Muslims have arrived in the Bangladesh border district of Cox's Bazar in just the last two weeks, joining at least 100,000 who were already there after fleeing earlier riots or persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

The number was expected to swell further, with thousands crossing the border each day.

Also Read: Fake News Being Used to Incite Anger Against Rohingyas in India

Fights were erupting over food and water. Women and children were tapping on car windows or tugging at the clothes of passing reporters while rubbing their bellies and begging for food. Health experts warned of the potential for outbreaks of disease.

"More and more people are coming," said UNHCR spokeswoman Vivian Tan. With camps already "more than full," the new arrivals were setting up spontaneous settlements along roadsides or on any available patches of land.

We are trying our best, but it is very difficult because every day we are seeing new arrivals.

UNHCR Spokeswoman Vivian Tan

Many of the newly arrived were initially stunned and traumatised after fleeing the violence. They are now growing desperate in searching for food distribution points that appeared only in recent days, passing out packets of biscuits and 25-kilogram (55-pound) bags of rice.

Also Read: In Photos: Protests in Anantnag Over Rohingya Crisis Turn Violent

(This story has been edited for length.)

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