Bodies of 16 Rohingya Muslims wash ashore in Bangladesh

Sixteen Rohingya Muslims died after a boat carrying people trying to reach Bangladesh capsized in the Naf River. The people on the boat were trying to flee the attacks by the Myanmar army and Buddhist nationalists in the Rakhine state, according to Muhammed Main Uddin Han, a police officer in Teknaf, Bangladesh.

Han said 15 dead bodies of those who were on the boats were found near the river by Bangladesh Border Guards.

Stating that four of them might have been shot, Han noted one more dead body from the boat was found at different location near the riverside.

A total of 39 Rohingya Muslims have died so far as drowned in the Naf River, according to latest statements.

Rohingya Muslims cross the Naf River, a border between Myanmar and Bngladesh, as a means of escape of the persecution they have faced for years. They aim to reach Teknaf, a district of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, across the river, and then head to the city center of Cox’s Bazar, where Rakhine refugee camps are located.

The Myanmar army last week killed many Rohingya Muslim civilians in the Rakhine state in the aftermath of the ongoing attacks under the pretext of counter-terrorism.

More than 60 villages were targeted in the attacks, and dozens of them were burnt and destroyed. Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims are trying to escape from Rakhine in a desperate bid to save their lives.