Humanitarian crisis looms in western Myanmar, UN warns
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New York - Thousands of Muslim Rohingyas displaced by sectarian fighting in western Myanmar face a looming crisis this rainy season if the government fails to move their camps and facilitate aid deliveries, the United Nations warned on Friday.
Sectarian fighting between Buddhists and Muslims of the Rohingya ethnic minority broke out in May in the Rakhine State, leaving at least 180 dead and some 125,000 people homeless in spartan temporary shelters.
"Tens of thousands of people displaced by violence in RakhineState are now in imminent danger of yet another tragedy when the monsoon rains hit," said John Ging, director of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The rainy season usually starts in May, and brings around 500 centimetres of rain over the following six months.
Most of the displaced are Rohingyas, a minority who have been living in the northern part of Rakhine, which neighbours Bangladesh, for generations but are denied citizenship under a 1982 law.
One year after the fighting, tens of thousands remain in refugee camps, afraid to return home out of safety concerns.
Humanitarian aid to the camps has been hindered by local Buddhist communities, who want the Rohingyas deported to Bangladesh.
"We need the government's support to build community respect for the international aid effort," said Ging, who visited the Rakhine State this week. "There has been a serious problem with threats and incitement against aid agencies and aid workers."//DPA
