Violence and Rohingya persecution has continued onto a fourth consecutive day with yet more deaths, casualties and asron attacks being reported.

The latest attacks come on a village within Kyauk Pyu township which we reported yesterday on Twitter. At around 7pm local time, this small fishing village came under a barrage of arson attacks by more than 700 Rakhine Buddhists. Although the Rohingya outnumbered the mob of Rakhine by 2,000 to 700 with many of their homes burning and being unarmed, many fled on their fishing boats to head to Sittwe. Residents had a number of means to get to Sittwe including Engine-powered boats, fishing boats and even hand-crafted rafts. Whilst many have managed to get to Sittwe and flee, it is estimated about 300 Rohingya remain stranded on the river.

Many of those who managed to cross into Sittwe did so under the cover of night, but as dawn broke in Arakan state, security forces, Rakhine authorities and many Rakhine lined the banks of the river threatening to shoot and maim any Rohingya setting into Sittwe.

The situation remains tense; neither able to shore in Sittwe, nor return to their village in Kyauk Pyu, 300 remain caught and trapped by a community and a State intent on persecuting them because they follow a different religion and are a different race. Other than death, other options seem completely unlikely.