Red Cross official says that relief operations are gaining traction

Fabrizio Carboni of the Red Cross said that thousands of Rohingya Muslims who had fled Myanmar have no food or water except for what the Red Cross provides them. More than 5000 people have made their way to the Naf river which divides Myanmar from Bangladesh.

He said that some refugees had been living near the mouth of the river for a month because they don’t have money to pay the fishermen who operate in these waters to make them cross over to Bangladesh.

Myanmar has stopped humanitarian agencies other than the Red Cross from entering the northern part of Rakhine state. More than half a million people have fled Myanmar due to the violent military offensive.

Myanmar’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi has maintained that the refugees can return safely to Myanmar but it hasn’t stopped Rohingya Muslims from fleeing to Bangladesh.

The Red Cross has about 200 people working in the affected area and has been doing its best to prove plastic sheets, water, and food for the people who are stranded on the beach.

Carboni said that more than 40,000 people have received food and another 5000 households are expected to receive food and water by next week.

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