Over 436,000 Rohingya refugees have been forced to flee to Bangladesh since August 2017.
They are arriving exhausted, hungry and sick, having walked for days to cross the border into Bangladesh. Most of them are women and children.
With thousands of desperate people arriving every day, joining the 350,000 who had already sought protection across Bangladesh, UNHCR’s two refugee camps in Bangladesh are now completely overcrowded. Families are spilling out into makeshift sites along roadsides, and an unknown number could still be stranded at the border.
UNHCR is gravely concerned about the continuing conflict in Myanmar and by reports that civilians have died trying to seek safety.
UNHCR is on the ground distributing vital aid items including:
- plastic tarpaulins for emergency shelter
- clothing
- mosquito nets
- jerry cans
- sleeping mats
- solar lamps
Three UNHCR airlifts have delivered enough core relief supplies to assist some 120,00 refugees, with more airlifts planned.
On 19 September, UNHCR escalated the crisis to a Level 3 emergency.This is the highest category of emergency and is declared when a crisis is complex and fast growing, and the needs of refugees are extremely urgent.
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