UN Fears Over 400 Rohingya Drowned in Myanmar Shipwrecks

IQNA – At least 427 Rohingya are feared to have drowned in two separate shipwrecks off Myanmar's coast earlier this month, the United Nations said, in what could become the deadliest maritime tragedy involving the persecuted Muslim minority this year.

In a statement released Friday, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) expressed deep concern over the incidents, which reportedly occurred on May 9 and 10. The agency is still working to verify the details surrounding the disasters.

Preliminary information suggests that a boat carrying 267 individuals sank on May 9, with only 66 survivors. A second vessel with 247 Rohingya on board capsized the next day, leaving just 21 people alive, Al Jazeera reported on Saturday. 

According to UNHCR, the passengers were either fleeing ongoing violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State or attempting to escape dire conditions in Bangladesh’s overcrowded Cox’s Bazar refugee camps.

“The UN refugee agency is gravely concerned about reports of two boat tragedies off the coast of Myanmar earlier this month,” the statement said. If confirmed, these would mark the highest number of fatalities at sea among Rohingya refugees in 2024.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called the double tragedy “a reminder of the desperate situation” facing the Rohingya, both in Myanmar and Bangladesh, particularly as humanitarian resources continue to shrink.

The Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Myanmar, have faced decades of systemic discrimination. A military crackdown in 2017 forced over 1 million to flee to Bangladesh. Many who remained in Rakhine are confined to camps with limited access to aid, while approximately 180,000 in Bangladesh face the threat of forced repatriation.

The situation has worsened since Myanmar’s 2021 military coup, which sparked widespread conflict. Rakhine State has become a battleground between the military and the Arakan Army, a local ethnic armed group.

Hai Kyung Jun, head of UNHCR’s Asia-Pacific bureau, warned that deteriorating conditions and funding shortages are pushing more Rohingya to risk their lives at sea. “The dire humanitarian situation, exacerbated by funding cuts, is having a devastating impact,” she said.

UNHCR estimates that 657 Rohingya have died in maritime incidents in 2024. The agency has appealed for $383 million to support Rohingya refugees and displaced communities, but only 30 percent of that target has been met.

Source: Agencies