Life 'stopped in tracks' in Rakhine state: Red Cross

`so terrified of each other that life has basically ground to a halt, the Red Cross said yesterday.

More than 620,000 of Myanmar's Muslim minority have fled across the border to Bangladesh since late August, when the Myanmar army launched a sweeping crackdown on Rohingya rebels in northern Rakhine state.

The Red Cross, the only international aid organisation with broad access on the ground in Rakhine, estimates that only about 300,000 Rohingya remain in the entire state.

But Dominik Stillhart, director of operations at the International Committee of the Red Cross, said the number should be taken with a "big pinch of salt" since a proper count has so far been impossible.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva after a three-day visit to the area, Stillhart said the situation in Rakhine appeared to have "stabilised", with few incidents of violence.

Yet people are continuing to flee, with around 300 still crossing the border each day, mainly because of fear and anxiety for the future, he said.

He said he was especially struck by a lack of people on the roads, in the markets and out in the fields.

"Life has stopped in its tracks... There are hardly any people moving around and you can really see that life has come to a halt," Stillhart said.

While it was no surprise that the remaining Rohingya are living in fear, he said it was striking that Buddhist populations in neighbouring villages also appeared to be frightened.

"You really get a sense that both communities are deeply scared of each other," he said.

Meanwhile, Red Cross staff in the area had not seen many wounded people in the hospitals, and surprisingly few people appeared to have been rounded up and detained, he said.