Report says thousands of children might have died because of Rohingya crackdown

March 1, 2017

More than a thousand children might die because of the crackdown against the Rohingyas last year, according to UN agencies.

A report by the London based Independent said the UN was prevented from delivering life saving supplies after Tatmadaw sealed off the townships of Maungdaw and Buthidaung.  

The report says while the military responded to international pressure and allowed aid in mid December, they were unable to connect with thousands of especially vulnerable children who were being previously aided with life saving supplies. Aid workers say they might have died, been displaced or fled to Bangladesh.

“We have reports of children who died from malnutrition,” said Chris Lewa, director of Arakan Project, “The indirect victims of the conflict might be more than those killed.”

13,155 children were listed in surveys last year as suffering from severe acute malnutrition in the two townships, according to the report. Out of which 3446 children are unreachable.

The death rate for acutely malnourished children left without support is between 30 to 50 per cent if not assisted within the first weeks, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

This means the mortality rate of children might well surpass the thousand mark, which Rohingya activists and some UN observers say is the number killed directly by the security forces.