Rohingya deaths higher than UN figures: Amnesty

Human rights group Amnesty International (AI) says the actual number of deaths among Rohingya Muslims attempting to flee persecution in Myanmar is much higher than estimates released by the United Nations (UN).

Amnesty said in a report based on interviews with survivors, released on Wednesday, that the deaths may be in the thousands instead of 370, as UN estimates suggest.

“The daily physical abuse faced by Rohingya who were trapped on boats in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea is almost too horrific to put into words,” Amnesty’s refugee researcher, Anna Shea, said.

The UN says the deaths occurred as boats carrying members of the Rohingya Muslim minority were abandoned at sea by human traffickers in harsh circumstances, between January and June this year.

Although the UN says five boats carrying Rohingyas arrived in Malaysia and Indonesia during the time period, eyewitnesses interviewed by Amnesty have reported that dozens of large boats carrying large numbers of people remain unaccounted for.

According to the report, Rohingyas who managed to arrive in neighboring countries say they witnessed traffickers killing those on boats when their families failed to pay ransom, while many were beaten, shot dead or thrown overboard.

A large number of them reportedly died from a lack of food and water or disease.

“The Rohingya are so desperate that they will continue to risk their lives at sea until the root causes of this crisis are addressed,” Shea said.

She also called on Myanar’s government to act “immediately” to end the persecution of the minority group and grant citizenship to Rohingyas.

In May, dozens of graves belonging to Rohingya refugees were found at a remote camp in Thailand's southern Songkla and Province, triggering international outrage.

Over 1.3 million Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar face torture and discrimination, including controls on their movements, family size, and access to jobs.

Many live in camps in neighboring countries.

In recent years, a large number of Rohingyas have been killed and thousands displaced in attacks by extremist Buddhists, especially in Rakhine State. The situation has forced thousands of Rohingyas to flee to neighboring countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

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