Al Jazeera: Nearly 20,000 Rohingya Flee to Bangladesh From Myanmar

More than 18,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh in recent days to escape fighting in western Myanmar. The two nations share a border of 270 kilometers; Bangladesh is 90 percent Muslim, and Myanmar is about 90 percent Buddhist and 4 percent Muslim. Bangladesh, already hosting 400,000 Rohingya refugees, tries to block the new waves of refugees. With the Rohingya Muslims denied citizenship rights and enduring years of persecution, extremist groups are emerging. “Foreign governments and organisations fear Rohingya villages are being subject to collective punishment after an armed group on August 5 attacked police posts and an army base in Rakhine state,” reports Al Jazeera. “The attacks - in which at least 110 were killed - were claimed by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a group which was formed by Rohingya living in Saudi Arabia after a bout of serious communal violence in 2012, according to the International Crisis Group.” The Myanmar army stormed parts of Rakhine state, and satellite images show fires burning in the area. The United Nations condemned the extremist attacks while urging Myanmar to stop attacking civilian groups and asking Bangladesh to allow entry. Northern Rakhine in Myanmar has been under lockdown since October. – YaleGlobal