Once again a painful news has come out from Myanmar regarding Rohingyas. Rohingyas fleeing the country to Bangladesh have been attacked through drones. There is news of more than 200 people being killed in this. This includes women, children and the entire family. According to Reuters report, eyewitnesses said that people were seen turning piles of dead bodies in search of their loved ones. Referring to the drone attack that took place on Monday, witnesses, activists and a diplomat said that the attack took place on the border with neighboring country Bangladesh.
Describing it as the deadliest attack in Rakhine state, officials said that a pregnant woman and her 2-year-old daughter were also killed. The militia and the Myanmar army blamed each other for this attack. It is alleged that this attack took place when people were waiting to cross the Bangladesh border.
Dead bodies are seen covered in mud
According to the report, in the video posted on social media, piles of dead bodies are seen scattered on the muddy ground and their suitcases and backpacks are visible lying around them. Three survivors said more than 200 people had been killed, while another said more than 70 had died.
According to Reuters report, this attack took place just outside Myanmar’s coastal city of Maungdaw. A witness, Mohammed Ilyas, 35, said his pregnant wife and 2-year-old daughter were injured in the attack and later died. Ilyas told that when the drones started attacking the crowd, he was standing with them on the beach.
Also read: Why are Rohingyas now fleeing Bangladesh due to fear of their lives, in which new countries are they taking refuge?
Who are Rohingya Muslims?
In fact, the dispute between Rohingya Muslims and Myanmar’s majority Buddhist community has been going on since Myanmar’s independence in 1948. It is said that Muslims have lived in Rakhine State, which is also known as Arakan, since the 16th century. This was the period when there was British rule in Myanmar. When the first Anglo-Burmese war ended in 1826, British rule was established over Arakan.
During this period, the British rulers started bringing laborers from Bangladesh to Arakan. In this way, the number of people coming to Rakhine in Myanmar from the neighboring country Bangladesh kept increasing. These were the same people who settled in Rakhine from Bangladesh and are today known as Rohingya Muslims. Seeing the increasing number of Rohingya, Myanmar’s General Ne Win’s government implemented Burma’s National Law in 1982. Under this law, the citizenship of Rohingya Muslims was abolished. Since then, these Rohingya Muslims are fighting for their existence in many countries.