Md Kamruzzaman
16 May 2023•Update: 16 May 2023
DHAKA, Bangladesh
Sunday's super Cyclone Mocha killed several hundred Rohingya in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state, according to multiple Rohingya sources.
“I have got information from my relatives in the area that only in two villages in Sittwe (the capital of Rakhine) so far 150 Rohingya people have been killed by the devastating Cyclone Mocha,” Mojib Ullah, a Rohingya leader, told Anadolu over the phone on Tuesday.
The death toll is feared to rise as more information is gathered from other cyclone-ravaged areas in Rakhine, said Ullah, who is the director at the Committee of Islamic & Cultural Heritage of Arakan (Rakhine) Rohingya Union.
The super cyclone, categorized as the top hurricane by the US, hit Bangladesh’s southeastern maritime port of Cox’s Bazar and Myanmar’s Rakhine state on Sunday.
Ullah said the cyclone severely damaged the camps of internally displaced people in Sittwe where nearly 140,000 Rohingya live.
“I am scared that many might have died in those camps,” the Rohingya leader said, adding that it would take some more time to get the complete figure of casualties of Rohingya in Myanmar due to the cyclone.
Rohingya frustrated over response
A Rohingya from Sittwe, whose name was not revealed for his safety, claimed that more than 100 Rohingya have been killed by the severe cyclone that he witnessed.
The Cyclone Mocha survivor, as he called himself, has expressed resentment over the news of the killing of only six people in Myanmar by the media.
“How (did) the international media confirm that Mocha killed only six or several people in Myanmar? Our loved ones are no more with us and it is not a joke. The reality should be the source of information,” the Rohingya said in a written statement.
He added: “I can’t even confirm the actual number of deaths yet. As of now more than a hundred dead bodies from the Rohingya community alone in Sittwe are found and I am the eyewitness. There are still many children and elderly people missing.”
He underscored the helplessness of the cyclone victims of the Rohingya in Myanmar and added that some bridges in the entrance points to Rohingya IDPs were destroyed by the cyclone.
“Neither any officials have visited us yet nor any mobile signal was available till Monday evening,” the Rohingya added.
No official confirmation regarding the Rohingya casualties in Sittwe has been released so far by the Myanmar government.
