Bodies of 26 Rohingya Muslims recovered from shipwrecks in Bangladesh

Bangladeshi onlookers watch on August 31, 2017 as a man covers the bodies of Rohingya women and children who drowned after their boat capsized on the Naf River near Teknaf. (Photo by AFP)

At least 26 people have been confirmed dead after three boats carrying an unknown number of Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar capsized in Bangladesh.

Lt. Col. S.M. Ariful Islam, a Bangladesh border guard commander, said Thursday that bodies of 15 children and 11 women were recovered from the Naf River at Teknaf in Cox's Bazar southeast of the country a day after the boats sank in the river. 

The tragedy is the latest to come from a fresh exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar to Bangladesh.

Militants claiming to defend the Rohingya in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine launched attacks last week on police and border guards to the north of the state. At least 100 were killed in the attacks and ensuing clashes. The attacks triggered a renewed crackdown by security forces and Buddhist mobs on Rohingya-populated villages in Rakhine, prompting many to leave their homes.

Bangladesh says some 18,000 people have crossed into Bangladesh.

Other reports say hundreds remain stranded along the border, trying to cross into Bangladesh as their homes back in Myanmar have been set ablaze. The prominent rights group, Human Rights Watch, has confirmed the incident after analyzing satellite imagery, which showed the homes were completely destroyed.

The International Organization for Migration has also warned about the plight of Rohingya Muslims who remain blocked from entry into Bangladesh.

Mohammad Ali Hossain, the top Bangladeshi official in Cox's Bazar, said Thursday that bodies of those recovered from the shipwrecks would be buried because no one had claimed them.