A man carries the body of six-month-old Jane Alam (Picture: Barcroft)

WARNING: Extremely graphic and upsetting images below.

The refugees arrive with horrific stories of rape, murder and persecution at the hands of their home country’s military.

Often with just the clothes they are wearing, whole families are pouring over the border into Bangladesh, saying the authorities in Myanmar are forcing them from their homes and communities.

Dozens killed after trains collide in northern IranMyanmar (formerly known as Burma) is predominantly Buddhist, but up to a million Rohingya-speaking Muslims live in the western areas, viewed by many as illegal immigrants despite living there for generations.


A UN official said that what is currently happening in the country amounts to ‘ethnic cleansing’ – i.e the attempt to wipe out a minority group with mass executions or deportations.



Refugees described soldiers firing at villagers from helicopter gunships, torching hundreds of homes, carrying out arbitrary arrests, and raping women and girls – claims the country’s military denies.

We have chosen to publish these harrowing images, taken today, to raise awareness of the crisis.

Refugee Noor Begum seen crying near the dead body of her six-month-old son Jane Alam

These photographs were taken today in Chittagong, Bangladesh, showing a family who just arrived in the country after fleeing Myanmar.

Shown above, refugee Noor Begum is pictured finally arriving at a camp in Teknaf, in the southern Cox’s Bazar district.

Her baby son Jane Alam, aged just six months, was suffering from starvation and pneumonia during the journey.

Sadly, he passed away just minutes after the family arrived at relative safety.

The family say they had to hide in the hills for 20 days with barely any food, to avoid the brutality of Myanmar’s army.

Jane Alam, aged six months, died minutes after their arrival (Picture: Barcroft)

Man washed Jane’s body before his burial (Picture: Barcroft)

Jane was laid to rest at a graveyard on a hillside, after men washed his tiny body.

This is just one family’s tragedy. Thousands more are trying to reach safety, many being forcibly turned back when they reach the Bangladesh border, Amnesty International said.

Champa Patel, the organisation’s South Asia Director, said: ‘Fleeing collective punishment in Myanmar, they are being pushed back by the Bangladeshi authorities.

‘Trapped between these cruel fates, their desperate need for food, water and medical care is not being addressed.’

One woman, 40, said she had fled after the Myanmar army killed her husband and one of her sons.

People pray before burying Jane Alam (Picture: Barcroft)

Noor Begum seen crying near the dead body of her six-month-old son (Picture: Barcroft)

‘We are sleeping outside in the mud,’ she said. ‘My son is two years old and is crying all the time, he is very cold in the mornings. Still, compared to Myanmar, Bangladesh seems like heaven to me.’

Repression of the Rohingya has been criticised for years, however the latest wave of violence is in response to an attack on Myanmar army border posts on October 9.

The retribution from the army goes well beyond anything proportionate and punishes the whole community, not just those responsible, Amnesty said,

At least 30,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, according to UN estimates.

It is hard to verify exact reports as journalists are not granted access to the areas affected.

Who are the Rohingya? The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim ethnic group described by the United Nations as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities. Using a dialect similar to that spoken in Chittagong in southeast Bangladesh, the Sunni Muslims are loathed by many in majority Buddhist Myanmar who see them as illegal immigrants and call them ‘Bengali’ – even though many have lived in Myanmar for generations. Most live in impoverished western Rakhine state, but are denied citizenship and smothered by restrictions on movement and work. The UN refugee agency says well over 120,000 have fled Rakhine since religious violence in 2012 — an exodus that continues, despite the perils of the sea journey. Last year, thousands were stranded at sea after a well-worn trafficking route through Thailand collapsed after the discovery of scores of shallow graves on the Malaysia border. There are around 300,000 Rohingya living in Bangladesh’s southern coastal district bordering Myanmar, the vast majority of whom have fled Myanmar in recent decades. Bangladesh recognises only a small portion as refugees and regularly turns back those trying to cross the border.