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Malay Mail
24-05-2025
- General
- Malay Mail
Deadliest Rohingya sea tragedy this year tied to aid shortfall, UN says
GENEVA, May 25 — Dire humanitarian conditions in Myanmar and Bangladesh are driving more Rohingya to risk dangerous boat journeys to safety, such as one this month that ended in a sinking and estimates of 427 deaths, the UN refugee agency said on Friday. The minority community's plight might have been worsened by aid funding cuts, the agency added. The humanitarian sector has been roiled by funding reductions from major donors, led by the US under President Donald Trump, and other Western countries as they prioritise defence spending prompted by growing fears of Russia and China. Two boats carrying some 514 Rohingya sank on May 9 and 10, carrying refugees who were thought to have left from refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, and Rakhine State in Myanmar. Only 87 survivors were found, UNHCR said. The possible deaths of 427 people would make it the deadliest tragedy at sea involving Rohingya refugees so far this year, according to the agency. That people chose to board boats during the annual monsoon season, which brings dangers such as strong winds and rough seas, reflected their desperation, the agency added. '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, Director of UNHCR's Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific. 'The latest tragedy is a chilling reminder that access to meaningful protection, especially in countries of first asylum, as well as responsibility sharing and collective efforts along sea routes, are essential to saving lives,' Kyung Jun added. The agency urged more financial support to stabilise the lives of Rohingya refugees in host countries including Bangladesh, and those displaced inside Myanmar. Its request for US$383.1 million (RM1.6 billion) for support in 2025 is currently only 30 per cent funded, it said. UNHCR received over US$2 billion in donations from the United States in 2024, or 40 per cent of its total donations. A UNHCR spokesperson said that in March it had frozen more than US$300 million of planned activities as part of cost-saving. — AFP
Express Tribune
24-05-2025
- General
- Express Tribune
UN says 427 Rohingya feared dead in May shipwrecks
Locals evacuate Rohingya refugees from a boat that came ashore on the north coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island in June 2020. PHOTO: REUTERS Listen to article The United Nations said Friday it feared that 427 Rohingya, Myanmar's persecuted Muslim minority, had perished at sea in two shipwrecks on May 9 and 10 off the Myanmar coast. If confirmed, this would be the "deadliest tragedy at sea" involving Rohingya refugees so far this year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) said in a statement. The Rohingya have been persecuted in Myanmar for decades. Thousands of them risk their lives every year by fleeing repression and civil war in their country by sea, often aboard makeshift boats. "The UN Refugee Agency is gravely concerned about reports of two boat tragedies off the coast of Myanmar earlier this month," a statement read. UNHCR said it was still working to confirm the exact circumstances surrounding the shipwrecks but preliminary information indicated that a first vessel carrying 267 people sank on May 9, with only 66 people surviving. A second ship with 247 Rohingya on board capsized on May 10, with just 21 survivors, the UN agency said. 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. Rakhine state has been the scene of fierce fighting between the military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic minority rebel group, over control of the territory. "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.
The Star
24-05-2025
- General
- The Star
United Nations fears 427 Rohingya perished at sea seeking safe shelter
FILE photo. Rohingya refugees arrive in North Aceh, Indonesia, after a dangerous sea voyage from Bangladesh. - Photo: UNHCR file DHAKA: (Bernama-Anadolu) The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, feared on Friday (May 23) that 427 Rohingya perished at sea after two boat tragedies off the coast of Myanmar earlier this month while searching for safe refuge, Anadolu Ajansi reported. Reports suggested that 514 Rohingya were travelling on two boats. Details are still being confirmed, UNHCR said in a statement. The first boat carried 267 people. Among them, more than half reportedly left from refugee camps in the southeastern Cox's Bazar district of Bangladesh, while the remainder departed from Rakhine State in Myanmar. The boat sank on May 9, with 66 survivors. Bangladesh is hosting more than 1.3 million Rohingya since they fled a Myanmar military crackdown in August 2017. The second boat carried 247 Rohingya, also refugees from Cox's Bazar camps and those fleeing Rakhine State, and capsized on May 10, with 21 survivors. Nearly one in five people attempting perilous sea movements in the region have been reported dead or missing in 2025, making the waters of the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal among the deadliest in the world. UNHCR said there were reports of a third boat carrying 188 Rohingya, which was intercepted after leaving Myanmar on May 14. "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, director of UNHCR's regional bureau for Asia and the Pacific. The annual monsoon season has arrived in the region, bringing strong winds, rainfall and rough seas, meaning the boats were travelling at a particularly dangerous time-reflecting the desperation of those making the journeys. UNHCR called on authorities in the region and the global community to take urgent action to prevent future tragedies, as saving lives and rescuing those in distress at sea is a humanitarian imperative and a longstanding duty under international maritime law. It also sought financial assistance to provide life-saving support to Rohingya refugees, noting that UNHCR has received only 30 per cent of what it requires to stabilise the lives of refugees and their host communities across Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and those displaced inside Myanmar. UNHCR requires US$383.1 million in 2025, it added. - Bernama-Anadolu
NDTV
24-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
427 Rohingya May Have Drowned In Two Shipwrecks In May: UN
The United Nations said Friday it feared that 427 Rohingya, Myanmar's persecuted Muslim minority, had perished at sea in two shipwrecks on May 9 and 10 off the Myanmar coast. If confirmed, this would be the "deadliest tragedy at sea" involving Rohingya refugees so far this year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) said in a statement. The Rohingya have been persecuted in Myanmar for decades. Thousands of them risk their lives every year by fleeing repression and civil war in their country by sea, often aboard makeshift boats. "The UN Refugee Agency is gravely concerned about reports of two boat tragedies off the coast of Myanmar earlier this month," a statement read. UNHCR said it was still working to confirm the exact circumstances surrounding the shipwrecks but preliminary information indicated that a first vessel carrying 267 people sank on May 9, with only 66 people surviving. A second ship with 247 Rohingya on board capsized on May 10, with just 21 survivors, the UN agency said. 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. Rakhine state has been the scene of fierce fighting between the military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic minority rebel group, over control of the territory. "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.
Straits Times
23-05-2025
- General
- Straits Times
Rohingya refugees increasingly driven to dangerous boat journeys, UN says
GENEVA - Dire humanitarian conditions in Myanmar and Bangladesh are driving more Rohingya to risk dangerous boat journeys to safety, such as one in May that ended in a sinking and estimates of 427 deaths, the UN refugee agency said on May 23. The minority community's plight might have been worsened by aid funding cuts, the agency added. The humanitarian sector has been roiled by funding reductions from major donors, led by the US under President Donald Trump, and other Western countries as they prioritise defence spending prompted by growing fears of Russia and China. Two boats carrying some 514 Rohingya sank on May 9 and May 10, carrying refugees who were thought to have left from refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, and Rakhine State in Myanmar. Only 87 survivors were found, UNHCR said. The possible deaths of 427 people would make it the deadliest tragedy at sea involving Rohingya refugees so far this year, according to the agency. That people chose to board boats during the annual monsoon season, which brings dangers such as strong winds and rough seas, reflected their desperation, the agency added. "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 Ms Hai Kyung Jun, Director of UNHCR's Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific. "The latest tragedy is a chilling reminder that access to meaningful protection, especially in countries of first asylum, as well as responsibility sharing and collective efforts along sea routes, are essential to saving lives," Ms Kyung Jun added. The agency urged more financial support to stabilise the lives of Rohingya refugees in host countries including Bangladesh, and those displaced inside Myanmar. Its request for US$383.1 million (S$494.4 million) for support in 2025 is currently only 30 per cent funded, it said. UNHCR received over US$2 billion in donations from the United States in 2024, or 40 per cent of its total donations. A UNHCR spokesperson said that in March it had frozen more than US$300 million of planned activities as part of cost-saving. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
