A Rohingya man stretches his arms out for food distributed by local volunteers, with bags of puffed rice stuffed into his shirt at Kutupalong, Bangladesh, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. With Rohingya refugees still flooding across the border from Myanmar, those packed into camps and makeshift settlements in Bangladesh are becoming desperate for scant basic resources and dwindling supplies.
COX’S BAZAAR, SUNDAY – The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) militant group declared a month-long ceasefire starting Sunday (10/9/2017) to provide access for humanitarian aid to reach Myanmar. Because of the armed conflict between ARSA and the Myanmarese authorities since August 25, at least 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled their homes and crossed the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. Some 30,000 non-Muslim people have also been affected by the crisis.
“ARSA strongly encourages all concerned humanitarian actors resume their humanitarian assistance to all victims of the humanitarian crisis irrespective of ethnic or religious background during the ceasefire period in all conflict affected areas of Arakan State,” ARSA said in a written statement posted through their official Twitter handle.
The decision is still unilateral thus far and ARSA has asked the Myanmarese government to do the same. The Myanmarese military has yet to provide an official statement. However, the Myanmarese government on Saturday said that it would establish three refugee camps in Rohingya-majority regions.
It is difficult to assess the impact of the ceasefire, as ARSA’s firepower is incomparable to that of the Myanmarese authorities. As a result of the conflict, thousands of homes have been burned, dozens of villages razed and the number of refugees has skyrocketed.
The United Nations has proposed a US$77 million emergency aid package. The Bangladeshi Red Cross has responded positively to ARSA’s ceasefire pledge, as the ongoing conflict has made it difficult for aid agencies to distribute humanitarian aid. Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world, has also been overwhelmed by the recent influx of refugees, as the country already houses around 400,000 Rohingya refugees from previous conflicts.
Three Rohingya were reportedly killed and another two injured by landmines when they tried to cross the border to Bangladesh. The Myanmarese military has been accused of planting landmines in areas most likely for Rohingya refugees to pass through. However, the military has denied the allegation, saying that the landmines have been there since 1990 to prevent illegal migrants and that they had tried to clear the area of landmines.
OIC concerns
State leaders attending the first Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in science and technology on Sunday in Astana, Kazakhstan, gave special concern to the ongoing crisis in Rakhine. They all urged the Myanmarese government to return the Rohingya refugees to their homes and to ensure their safety and security.
After attending the summit, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that Indonesia would be ready to act as a bridge for OIC countries wishing to distribute humanitarian aid to Rohingya refugees, as only Indonesia was currently being received by Myanmarese authorities.
Meanwhile, solidarity marches for the Rohingya were reported in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, and Serang, Banten.
