February 4, 2018
Tatmadaw led forces launched an assault on the village tract of Dong Khali in Southern Maungdaw forcing the few dozen villagers left in the area to flee towards the coast in the direction of Bangladesh.
At around dawn, the security forces entered the village from all directions in an aggressive position and began breaking the houses of the Rohingyas. Dong Khali had a population of around 1800 but the village was attacked by the military in 2017 and most of the villagers had crossed the Bay of Bengal in to Shah Pwuri Dweep of Bangladesh at the very beginning of the operations, with only a few left behind. Since Friday’s operations, those remaining have left for the Dong Khali char area.
The Dong Khali char area is one of the major maritime crossing points for desperate Rohingya refugees fleeing in to Bangladesh. Now it looks like the villagers will also have to wait in the char area, some say they might even look for a Bangladeshi boat can smuggle them out.
Bangladesh, while keeping the land border open has long closed the maritime borders citing boat accidents in the Bay of Bengal and the tendency of smugglers to profit from the Rohingya crisis. The decision by the government of Bangladesh has however added to the woes of thousands of Rohingyas who had made desperate journeys from as far as Rathedaung and Southern Buthidaung to cross in to Bangladesh.
The desperate refugees are now being joined by the villagers of Dong Khali who are now unable to return to their villages as the military maintains a position in the area.
