UNITED NATIONS: Thousands more Rohingya Muslims are fleeing large-scale violence and persecution in Myanmar and crossing into Bangladesh, where more than half a million others are already living in squalid and overcrowded camps, according to a report which cites witnesses and a drone video shot by the UN office for refugees.

The UNHCR video shot on Monday shows thousands upon thousands of Rohingya Muslims trudging along a narrow strip of land alongside what appears to be a rain-swollen creek in the Palong Khali area in southern Bangladesh. The line of refugees stretches for a few miles.

In Geneva on Tuesday, UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic said an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Rohingya had fled since Sunday night — raising the overall total to 582,000 refugees who have left Myanmar since Aug 25.

He said the latest influx came through the Anjuman Para border crossing point, and many of the new refugees explained they had fled when their villages were set on fire. Anjuman Para is in the Palong Khali area where the drone video was shot.

“As of this morning, they are still squatting in the paddy fields of Anjuman Para village in Bangladesh,” Mahecic told a news briefing. “They are waiting for permission to move away from the border, where the sound of gunfire continues to be heard every night from the Myanmar side.”

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2017