12 Rohingya refugees killed after boat capsizes fleeing Myanmar

At least 12 Rohingya refugees, including 10 children, died after their boat capsized as they tried to flee Myanmar for Bangladesh, officials told CNN.

A fishing trawler capsized on the Naf River late Sunday evening local time, said Ariful Islam, commanding officer of the Bangladesh Border Guard in Teknaf, on the border with Myanmar.

Islam said his team rescued 13 people by pulling them from the water into their boats.

“They (were) so distressed,” Islam said of those rescued. “We have provided them with first aid and food. Now they are in the camps.”

He added it was unclear how many people were on board the boat or if any are still missing: “You never know, we might find more bodies.”

The 12 dead bodies were found washed ashore near Shah Porir Dwip, on the southern tip of Bangladesh.

At least 519,000 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since late August after fleeing violence in Myanmar, according to the latest report from the Inter Sector Coordination Group in Bangladesh.

Rohingya children wait to receive food from an aid group at a refugee camp in Ukhiya, Bangladesh, on Tuesday, November 14. More than 600,000 of the Rohingya Muslim minority group from Myanmar's Rakhine state have fled to Bangladesh, according to the United Nations.

Rohingya Muslims paddle a makeshift raft as they cross the Naf River from Myanmar into Bangladesh on November 12. Human rights activists consider the Rohingya to be among the world's most persecuted people.

A young Rohingya refugee begs for food through the glass of a car window at Balukhali refugee camp in Bangladesh on October 7.

Rohingya refugees carry their belongings across muddy waters at a camp on October 5.

Rohingya refugees mourn beside the bodies of relatives who died when a boat capsized in late September.

Sona Banu is carried ashore on September 27 by Nobi Hossain after crossing the Naf River by boat from Myanmar to near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

Dildar Begum, a Rohingya woman, and her daughter, Noor Kalima, recover from injuries at Sadar Hospital in Cox's Bazar after fleeing their home in Rakhine state.

Burnt villages are visible near Maungdaw in Myanmar's Rakhine state on September 27.

People scramble to catch food distributed by aid groups on September 18 at the Balukhali refugee camp in Bangladesh.

Rohingya refugees take cover from monsoon rains on September 17 in the Balukhali refugee camp in Bangladesh.

A Bangladeshi border guard keeps watch September 16 near the beach of Sharapuri Dwip, where many Rohingya refugees land after crossing from Myanmar.

Rohingya refugees disembark from a boat on September 13 on the Bangladeshi side of the Naf River.

Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar hold their infant son Abdul Masood, who died when their boat capsized before reaching Bangladesh on September 13.

Rohingya refugee Rashida Begum stands next to her 15-year-old son, Azizul Hoque, as he is treated on September 13, at a hospital in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. He sustained a landmine injury while crossing from Myanmar to Bangladesh.

Rohingya refugees bury Nur Ali in Kutupalong, Bangladesh, on September 13. Ali was a 50-year-old man who died of gunshot wounds he sustained while fleeing violence in Myanmar.

Nur Ali's son, Abul Basar, reacts while attending his father's funeral on September 13, in Bangladesh. In Myanmar, the latest outbreak of violence came after a series of alleged attacks by Rohingya militants on government border posts. In response, Myanmar's military intensified "clearance operations" against "terrorists," driving thousands of people from their homes. Satellite photos released by Human Rights Watch showed entire villages torched to the ground in clashes between Myanmar's armed forces and local militants.

Rohingya children flee the Rakhine state by boat on Tuesday, September 12.

A woman collapses on September 12, after the wooden boat she and other refugees were traveling in crashed into the shore in Dakhinpara, Bangladesh.

The woman is carried to shore after her boat crashed in Dakhinpara.

A Rohingya woman cries after the boat crash in Dakhinpara on September 12.

Refugees jump from the boat in Dakhinpara on September 12.

A Rohingya child holds a baby on September 12, as refugees wade through the Naf River in Bangladesh.

Rohingya men pray on September 11, in a makeshift shelter near Cox's Bazar.

Bangladeshi volunteers distribute food on September 10, to Rohingya refugees in Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Rohingya refugees walk across paddy fields on September 9, after crossing the border in Gundum, Bangladesh.

A boat full of Rohingya refugees arrives on September 9, on the Bangladeshi side of the Naf River.

A girl is carried to safety after crossing the Naf River on September 9.

Rohingya men reach out for relief supplies on September 9, at a refugee camp in Bangladesh.

A Rohingya girl carries supplies on September 9, at a refugee camp in Ukhia, Bangladesh.

Refugees gather on the shoreline after arriving September 8, in Dakhinpara.

A Bangladeshi border guard orders Rohingya refugees to return to the Myanmar side of a small canal on August 29. Bangladesh has been struggling to cope with the influx of refugees.

Bangladeshi border guards stand watch on August 26, as Rohingya refugees escape fresh gunfire near Myanmar's Rakhine state.

Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar

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Last week, Bangladesh announced plans to build a single, enormous refugee camp to house around 800,000 Rohingya refugees as the flow of people across the border shows no signs of stopping.

“Solutions lie with (Myanmar) because the problem was created by the Myanmar government. We want them to take back their citizens to their own homeland,” Obaidul Quader, a Bangladeshi minister, said last week, adding the refugees were an “unbearable burden” on his country.

Bangladesh is also dealing with the internal displacement of hundreds of thousands of its own citizens due to severe seasonal flooding.

Ceasefire ending

In a new report released Friday, aid organization Refugees International described the actions of the Myanmar military as “crimes against humanity.”

Myanmar has repeatedly denied claims it is working deliberately to wipe out the Rohingya, saying they are carrying out counter attacks against “brutal acts of terrorism.”

The crackdown in Rakhine intensified after Rohingya militants killed 12 security officers during coordinated attacks on border posts, according to Myanmar state media.

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Inside the Rohingya resistance

03:26 - Source: CNN

At midnight local time Monday (2:30 p.m. ET), a month-long ceasefire called by the militant Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) will come to an end, the group said in a statement Saturday.

ARSA leader Ata Ullah said the ceasefire was conducted to allow humanitarian access to Rakhine State and to allow safe passage for refugees to escape to Bangladesh.

He accused the Myanmar government of blocking humanitarian access, adding that ARSA is determined to “stop the tyranny and oppression waged against the Arakanese people.”

CNN’s Medhavi Arora contributed reporting.