Some 379,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state for Bangladesh since fresh violence erupted last month, the United Nations (UN) said on Wednesday.

The figure has risen by 9,000 in 24 hours, according to the UN refugee agency spokesman Joseph Tripura told AFP.

Bangladesh authorities are now registering new arrivals and building a massive new camp near the border with Myanmar to accommodate the influx.

“We've already started shifting thousands of people to this camp where we're building sheds for them,” Ali Hossain, government administrator for Cox's Bazar district, told AFP.

Attacks by Rohingya militants on Myanmar security forces in Rakhine on August 25 sparked a harsh military crackdown on the minority Muslim community and the exodus started almost straight away.

Rohingya people have long been subjected to discrimination in the Buddhist-dominated Myanmar, which denies them citizenship.

There were more than 300,000 Rohinya in refugee camps and makeshift settlements in Bangladesh even before the latest unrest.

These camps are now completely overwhelmed and tens of thousands of new arrivals have no shelter.

Most walked for days to reach Bangladesh and aid workers say many are sick and in desperate need of food.

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.