AT LEAST 427 Rohingya, Myanmar’s Muslim minority, may have perished at sea in two shipwrecks on May 9 and 10, the United Nations said, in what would be another deadly incident for the persecuted group.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) said in a statement on Friday that – if confirmed – the two incidents would be the “deadliest tragedy at sea” involving Rohingya refugees so far this year.
“The UN refugee agency is gravely concerned about reports of two boat tragedies off the coast of Myanmar earlier this month,” UNHCR said in the statement, adding that it was still working to confirm the exact circumstances surrounding the shipwrecks.
According to the agency, preliminary information indicated that a vessel carrying 267 people sank on May 9, with only 66 people surviving, and a second ship with 247 Rohingya on board capsized on May 10, with just 21 survivors.
The Rohingya on board were either leaving Bangladesh’s huge Cox’s Bazar refugee camps or fleeing Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine, the statement said.
Persecuted in Myanmar for decades, thousands of Rohingya risk their lives every year to flee repression and civil war in their country, often going to sea on board makeshift boats.
In a post on X, UNHCR High Commissioner Filippo Grandi said news of the double tragedy was “a reminder of the desperate situation” of the Rohingya “and of the hardship faced by refugees in Bangladesh as humanitarian aid dwindles”.
In 2017, more than a million Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh from Myanmar’s Rakhine State following a brutal crackdown by Myanmar’s military.
At least 180,000 of those who fled are now facing deportation back to Myanmar while those who stayed behind in Rakhine have endured dire conditions confined to refugee camps.
In 2021, the military launched a coup in Myanmar, ousting the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Since then, Rakhine has been the scene of fierce fighting between the military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic minority rebel group, for control of the state amid a widening civil war in the country.
“The dire humanitarian situation, exacerbated by funding cuts, is having a devastating impact on the lives of Rohingya, with more and more resorting to dangerous journeys to seek safety, protection and a dignified life for themselves and their families,” said Hai Kyung Jun, who leads UNHCR’s regional bureau for Asia and the Pacific.
In 2024, some 657 Rohingya died in the region’s waters, according to UNHCR.
Humanitarian organisations have been hit hard by funding cuts from major donors, led by the United States administration of President Donald Trump and other Western countries, as they prioritise defence spending prompted by growing fears of Russia and China.