Rohingya flee no man's land after threat

Hundreds of Rohingya living in no man's land have left their makeshift camp and crossed into Bangladesh after soldiers from Myanmar used loud hailers to threaten them, community leaders said yesterday.

Around 6,000 Rohingya have been living on a thin stretch of land between the two countries since fleeing Myanmar in the wake of a brutal military crackdown on the Muslim minority in late August. They were among the first to flee Myanmar when the violence erupted last year and set up makeshift shelters in no man's land in the weeks before Bangladesh agreed to let the Rohingya into the country.

In recent weeks they have come under pressure from soldiers who have stepped up patrols along the border just metres away from the camp and broadcast messages using loud hailers ordering the Rohingya to leave.

Community leader Dil Mohammad said the messages had spread panic through the camp. "Around 150 families have already left the camp for Bangladesh as they were afraid they might be forcefully sent back to Rakhine," he said.