Turkish agency continues delivering aid to Rohingya

The Turkish Coordination and Cooperation Agency (TIKA) continues to provide humanitarian aid for the Muslim Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, the agency said Thursday.

TIKA said in a statement that aid packages including personal care products and food items have been delivered to 2,000 Rohingya families in cooperation with Kazakhstan.

The agency is planning to distribute aid to 20,000 families during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, it said.

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

Since Aug. 25, 2017, some 750,000 refugees, mostly children and women, fled Myanmar when Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community, according to the UN.

Local media reports suggest at least 6,000 Rohingya have been living in the no man's land -- a small strip of land along the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

At least 9,000 Rohingya were killed in Rakhine state from Aug. 25 to Sept. 24, according to Doctors Without Borders.

In a report published on Dec. 12, the global humanitarian organization said that the deaths of 71.7 percent or 6,700 Rohingya were caused by violence. They include 730 children below the age of 5.

The UN has documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel. In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.