Thousands flee after Myanmar rebels use drones to bomb Rohingya villagers

Thousands of Rohingya are being forced to flee from their homes in Myanmar and escape on dangerous boat journeys after being targeted by armed rebels, activists and officials say.

Having seized control of much of Myanmar’s Rakhine state from the military, the rebel Arakan Army has turned on the Rohingya minority in areas it controls, shelling villages, forcing them to leave their homes and reportedly rounding up groups of men.

A UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said precise numbers could not be verified but that thousands of Rohingya had fled the townships of Maungdaw and Buthidaung in recent weeks.

Rohingya activists in the Nayapara refugee camp in Bangladesh said they found the bodies of three people washed up on the banks of the Bangladeshi side of the Naf River, which forms the border with Myanmar, on Tuesday, while dozens have more have been recovered in recent weeks.

Many villagers ran to nearby rivers in the hope of escaping by boat, either to Rakhine’s capital, Sittwe, or across the border to Bangladesh, where 1 million Rohingya refugees have been living since Myanmar’s military regime first launched attacks on the Muslim minority in 2017.

The UN official said it appeared that a coordinated attack took place on 5 August. Rohingya from several villages were forced from their homes to a riverbank by Arakan Army fighters, where they were then targeted by explosive-laden drones.

Abdus Sukkur, from Maungdaw, arrived in Bangladesh in mid-August after one of his sons was killed in the attack.

“The Arakan Army used drones to drop bombs on us, so we had to run from our homes and come to Bangladesh,” he said. “I couldn’t even perform a funeral prayer for my son because we had to run so quickly from the horror.”

The UN official said there had been attempts by international mediators to contact the Arakan Army after previous reports of aggression, including sieges of villages that prevented the Rohingya from working or farming, but the drone attacks on 5 August marked an escalation in hostilities.

“Not only this time do they burn villages, they use drones. So it seems like they’re making it even worse,” the official said. “We don’t know if this is strategy, if it’s a message, if they’re doing this on purpose to make a point.

“This isn’t just a matter of Rohingya being caught between the Arakan Army and the military,” the official said. “This is different: this is the Arakan Army targeting Rohingya specifically as the military is completely driven out.”

Bangladesh has returned many of the boats that have arrived from Myanmar but others have managed to get through as Bangladeshi security forces are over-stretched after weeks of unrest surrounding the resignation of the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.

The head of the new interim government, Muhammad Yunus , said it would continue to support the refugees.

“We need the sustained efforts of the international community for Rohingya humanitarian operations and their eventual repatriation to their homeland, Myanmar, with safety, dignity and full rights,” Yunus said.

Bangladesh has enforced harsh measures on Rohingya refugees, most of whom arrived after the massacres in 2017 , restricting work, travel and education in an effort to encourage their return to Myanmar.

However, attempts to repatriate them have failed because of a lack of guarantees of their safety in Myanmar. Conditions have worsened as the Arakan Army battles the military for control of Rakhine state.

Myanmar’s military has forcibly conscripted Rohingya to fight against the Arakan Army, while the Arakan Army has attacked the Rohingya, accusing them of collaborating with the military.

The expulsion of 700,000 Rohingya from Myanmar in 2017 was the culmination of decades of violence and persecution against the ethnic minority, which the United States has concluded was genocide .

About 500,000 Rohingya are estimated to remain in Myanmar, and activists fear the latest violence could lead to even more being forced from their homes.

Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK rights group, said: “These are not isolated incidents – they are part of a systematic campaign of violence and terror that must be stopped. The Rohingya cannot endure another tragedy while the world remains silent.”

Those who have managed to get into Bangladesh are not registering as refugees for fear they will be returned, leaving them without any kind of aid. The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières said it had seen a rise in the number of people being treated for battle-related injuries.

The aid agency Cafod said there was already a lack of funding for the refugees in Bangladesh and the arrival of more highlighted the need for greater international support.

Related: Who are the Rohingya and what is happening in Myanmar?

Bibi Hazera, 12, said she fled from Maungdaw with 10 members of her family but only she and two siblings had survived attacks by the Arakan Army. The three children have been living in Bangladesh with an aunt.

“We don’t have a shelter, we don’t have food. The only clothes I have are what I’m wearing now, borrowed from another girl,” she said.

Conditions are similarly bad for Rohingya arriving in Sittwe, where they have to take a days-long boat journey downriver while trying to evade the Arakan Army and Myanmar’s military.

An activist in Sittwe who fled from Buthidaung in May said: “Many Rohingyas were arrested and killed by both the Arakan Army and military, and more were killed on the Sittwe shore by the Burmese navy.

“The Rohingya have lost everything – our homes, property and our youths and educated people have been killed. They all hoped that Sittwe would be safe for them.”