By Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian

PHUKET: Concern is growing about the large number of Rohingya boatpeople being held in a crowded detention centre north of Phuket.

A total of 295 men and boys are still being held at the Phang Nga Immigration Centre, a spokesperson confirmed by telephone today.

Maungdaw, Arakan State: Four Rohingya minor children from one family of Rohingya community were slaughtered and one Rakhine was killed and three wounded by unknown miscreants in Maungdaw north yesterday night, said a village admin office member who denied to be named.
“On that night, a group of unknown miscreants went to Deen Mohamed’s house of Khaza Bill (Sapaikone) village,under Nasaka area No.5 of Maungdaw north while he was not present in the house. He has been working with GE military at Burma- Bangladesh border. After entering the house, the miscreants slaughtered all four minor children – Nuruzawma, Rozena Begum,Yasmin Ara and Mozena, aged 10, 8, 6 and 4 (three females and one male) in the house. The miscreants also abducted the mother –Roza- of the children and she is yet to be found.”

By Devex Editor
EDITOR’S NOTE: There needs to be a coordinated response to the plight of the Rohingya people, many of which have been driven out western Burma by government forces lately. Wealthier Muslim countries should step up, writes Joshua Kurlantzick, fellow for southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Over the past year, as conflict has flared in Rakhine State in Myanmar, growing numbers of Rohingya have fled their homes. It remains unclear to me — even after a trip to Rakhine State — exactly why the conflict started now, and what role the local security forces have played, if any. However, it is abundantly clear that the region’s management of Rohingya outflows is horrendous, a failure pointed out by the increasing numbers of Rohingya who are fleeing by boat, rather than going to camps in Myanmar or Bangladesh.

(Reuters) – Nearly 6,000 Rohingya Muslims have arrived in Thailand since October, when sectarian violence flared in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state and displaced tens of thousands of people, a top Thai security agency said on Thursday

Entire communities of Rohingyas are languishing in makeshift camps in Myanmar, without access to healthcare or clean water, according to the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) aid group, while Thailand has promised humane treatment for the 5,899 who have arrived on its shores.

“Those detained will continue to be treated as illegal and given only basic care in line with humanitarian practices,” said Dittaporn Sasamit, a spokesman for Thailand’s Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC).

RANGOON — A medical aid group says its access to camps with tens of thousands of Muslims who fled the inter-communal violence in Arakan State, is being blocked by government forces and local leaders. As a result, the displaced are suffering and at times dying from preventable diseases.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) General Director Arjan Hehenkamp told a press conference on Thursday that Muslim groups were being confined to sites in muddy rice fields or narrow strips of land without access to health care, clean water or sanitation.

Government security forces restrict MSF visits and limit the movement of Muslim patients, even if they are critically ill, Hehenkamp said, adding that local Arakanese were reluctant to cooperate with MSF due to the authorities’ attitude, or because they resent efforts to help the Muslim camps.