The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported on Tuesday that "at least 569 Rohingya have died or gone missing while trying to flee Myanmar or Bangladesh in 2023, marking the highest recorded number since 2014." The commission called for "urgent action to protect this ethnic minority," noting that "the deaths or disappearances occurred while approximately 4,500 Rohingya attempted to cross the Andaman Sea or the Bay of Bengal." The commission stated that "the reported number of missing or deceased is the highest since 2014, when the total reached 730."
Survivors recounted harrowing stories of assaults and exploitation during the journey, including gender-based violence. It was noted that "most of those undertaking these journeys are children and women, who constitute 66 percent of those embarking on such deadly trips. Refugees were leaving Bangladesh, with a smaller proportion departing from Myanmar."
More than one million Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar are living in makeshift camps made of bamboo and plastic in the Cox's Bazar region along the Bangladesh border. Most fled a military crackdown in their homeland in 2017.
