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‘Many more could die’: Urgent plea for Rohingya refugees trapped at sea

‘Many more could die’: Urgent plea for Rohingya refugees trapped at sea

At least one passenger on a boat carrying 185 refugees has died, with dozens more in ‘critical condition’, warns UNHCR. Fears are growing for scores of Rohingya refugees believed to be stranded at sea in the Indian Ocean, after a boat they set off in from Bangladesh saw its engine fail. The group of some 185 Rohingya, mostly women and children, are in desperate need of rescue after falling into distress near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Saturday. The Rohingya were fleeing overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh, where they had taken shelter after escaping their homeland in Myanmar. More than 750,000 Rohingya were forced to flee Myanmar in 2017 after the military launched a crackdown on the Muslim minority, torching their homes and properties. The United States accused the military of committing genocide against the Rohingya people, while a genocide case against Myanmar is under way at the UN’s top court. The UN agency said at least one of the boat’s passengers had already died, with a dozen more in “critical condition”. “Many more could die under the watch of numerous coastal states without timely rescue and disembarkation to the nearest place of safety,” the UNHCR warned. “It is really a desperate situation.” Thousands of the mostly Muslim Rohingya, heavily persecuted in Myanmar, undertake risky sea journeys from their country and refugee camps in Bangladesh every year trying to reach Malaysia or Indonesia. More than 2,000 Rohingya are believed to have attempted the risky journey to Southeast Asian countries in 2022, according to UNHCR. Since last year, more than 570 people, including Rohingya refugees, have been reported dead or missing at sea in the region, it said. When it comes to the people currently adrift, the agency emphasised that “a bigger tragedy is preventable with timely efforts to save lives”. “This situation once again underlines the importance of all states in the region deploying their full search and rescue capacities to avoid human disasters happening at this scale.” Adblock test (Why?)

Israel-Hamas war: List of key events, day 79

Israel-Hamas war: List of key events, day 79

Here’s how things stand on Sunday, December 24, 2023: The latest developments The United States said Iran launched a drone from its soil that struck a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned chemical tanker in the Indian Ocean. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) also said it downed several drones launched at vessels from Yemen by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement. The Houthis also fired two antiship ballistic missiles in the southern Red Sea, but no ships were hit. Pro-Palestinian marches continued in cities across the world, with some of the latest protests in Australia, Germany and Turkey. Heavy raids by the Israeli army continued in the occupied West Bank. A convoy led by bulldozers entered Tulkarem in the early hours of Sunday, and raids have also been reported in Bethlehem, the town of Beita just south of Nablus, and the towns of Sa’ir and Karma near Hebron. The representative for Hamas in Beirut, Osama Hamdan, said Israel has failed in its stated goal of “destroying” the group, and that it will have to stop the war if it wants the captives released. Human impact and fighting Thousands of Palestinians were again forced to flee their homes, this time after the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders in the central Gaza Strip. Since a United Nations Security Council resolution was passed on Friday without a clear call for a ceasefire, there has been a surge in aerial bombardments in central Gaza. Israeli air raids killed more than 400 people in Gaza in the past 48 hours. Gaza’s Government Media Office said more than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7. The death toll from Hamas’s attack on Israel stands at nearly 1,140, revised from 1,400. At least 101 journalists have been killed since October 7, according to the Government Media Office, which also said more than 50 media offices have been completely or partially destroyed by Israeli attacks. Al Jazeera Arabic’s cameraman Samer Abudaqa was among those killed in Israeli strikes. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it continues to operate at its medical point in Jabalia, northern Gaza, despite incessant shelling of the area. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also said on X: “As the conflict intensifies and the horror grows, we will continue to do our part. We will not give up.” Diplomacy Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, Israel’s current and former defence ministers, respectively, who, along with Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu make up the Israeli war cabinet, visited northern Gaza and promised that more attacks would be forthcoming despite international pressure for an immediate ceasefire. US President Joe Biden had a “private” phone conversation with Netanyahu. He told reporters after that he “did not ask for a ceasefire”. Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, said the UNSC resolution for humanitarian relief would only result in a “drop in the ocean of suffering” in Gaza. She said the White House “holds the key” for putting an end to the carnage. During a meeting in Doha, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi discussed the war in Gaza and called for an end to Israeli attacks. The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, is set to give his third speech since the start of the war in the coming days to mark the January 3 assassination of Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, by the US. [embedded content] Adblock test (Why?)