On Friday, the United Nations issued a dire warning about the escalating conflict in Myanmar's Rakhine State, revealing that approximately 45,000 Rohingya have been forced to flee their homes amidst allegations of violence and property destruction.

"Tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced in recent days by the fighting in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships," reported UN rights office spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssell from Geneva. She highlighted that around 45,000 Rohingya have sought refuge near the Naf River, close to the Bangladesh border.

Rakhine has been engulfed in clashes since November, when the Arakan Army (AA) launched attacks against the ruling junta's forces, breaking a ceasefire that had largely held since the military coup in 2021. The AA is campaigning for greater autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine population, while the state also remains home to approximately 600,000 Rohingya Muslims, who have long faced persecution.

The current situation echoes the crisis of 2017, when hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Rakhine following a military crackdown now under scrutiny in a United Nations genocide court case. "Over a million Rohingya are already in Bangladesh, having fled past purges," Throssell noted.

UN rights chief Volker Turk has called on Bangladesh and other nations to offer protection to the new wave of refugees, in accordance with international law, and urged for global solidarity with Bangladesh in supporting the Rohingya.

Throssell also warned of the "clear and present risks of a serious expansion of violence" in Rakhine, citing ongoing battles in Maungdaw town, which hosts military outposts and a significant Rohingya population. 

"In this appalling situation, civilians are once more victimized, killed, their properties destroyed and looted, their demands for safety and security ignored," Throssell lamented. "They are again forced to flee their homes in a recurring nightmare of suffering."

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