12 June 2018•Update: 12 June 2018
By Fatih Erel
GENEVA
The first heavy monsoon rain of this year swept through Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, killing a child and damaging more than 1,000 shelters, a UN official said on Tuesday.
"Torrential rains and winds up to 70 kilometers per hour caused at least 89 reported incidents, including 37 landslide incidents, causing several injuries and one confirmed fatality – a child,” UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic said in a press briefing.
“Nearly 2,500 refugee families, some 11,000 people in all, are affected," he said, adding: "More than 1,000 shelters as well as ten water points, 167 latrines, one health facility, and one food distribution site have been damaged."
According to the UN, up to 200,000 refugees could be at risk of landslides and floods and still need to be moved to safer areas.
Since Aug. 25, 2017, more than 750,000 refugees, mostly children and women, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community, according to Amnesty International.
At least 9,700 Rohingya were killed in Rakhine from Aug. 25 to Sept. 24 last year, according to Doctors Without Borders.
In a report published recently, the humanitarian group said the deaths of 71.7 percent or 6,700 Rohingya were caused by violence. They include 730 children below the age of 5.
The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.
The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel.
In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.
