COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AP) - The Latest on violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state and the resulting flood of ethnic Rohingya refugees into neighboring Bangladesh (all times local):
5:30 p.m.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi says after meetings with Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the country’s armed forces commander that “de-escalation” of tensions in Rakhine state should be the top priority of Myanmar’s government.
Marsudi says she is the first foreign minister to meet with Myanmar’s leadership since violence erupted again in Rakhine on Aug. 25, triggering an exodus of Rohingya Muslims to neighboring Bangladesh.
She said in a statement that: “The security authorities of Myanmar need to immediately stop all forms of violence that occurred in Rakhine state and provide protection to all people including the Muslim community.”
Marsudi said Indonesia has submitted a five-point plan to Myanmar that needs immediate implementation “so that the crisis of humanity and security will not worsen.”
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12 p.m.:
A hospital near Bangladesh’s southeastern border has become overcrowded with dozens of Rohingya refugees who arrived with bullet wounds and broken bones after fleeing violence in western Myanmar.
The U.N. refugee agency says ethnic Rohingya Muslims are still streaming across the swampy border and had already filled the three existing refugee camps to capacity.
The UNHCR on Monday was counting some 73,000 new refugees in Bangladesh since violence erupted on Aug. 25 in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state. Many of their needs including food and shelter were being provided by Rohingya who fled Myanmar years ago.
Meanwhile, Dr. Shaheen Abdur Rahman Choudhury at the Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital said 31 Rohingya men were being treated for bullet wounds and broken bones. He described them as being “distressed and afraid.”
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