Rohingya: more refugees flee fearing violence, torture

Another wave of refugees trying to escape the violence in Myanmar crossed into Bangladesh on Sunday. Many of them repeat stories of rape and murder carried out by Myanmar’s troops.

More Rohingya refugees have fled into Bangladesh amid fears of violence, torture, and rape.

This is just a small group of some 600,000 Rohingya to have sought refuge in Bangladesh, many of them repeating stories of rape and murder carried out against them.

Their escape from Myanmar was fraught with danger and frustration as they had to build makeshift boats using plastic jerry cans left over from other villages.

A senior UN official says Myanmar’s troops have systematically gang-raped and tortured Rohingya women.

The envoy on sexual violence in conflict has been speaking to some of the refugees. She says she’s going to raise the mistreatment of Rohingya with the International Criminal Court, calling rape a weapon of genocide.

Al Jazeera’s Peter Sharp reports.