More than 120,000 Rohingya refugees have fled violence in Myanmar in the past 2 weeks

Rohingya refugees gather on the border of Myanmar and Bangladesh.
(Image credit: K.M. ASAD/AFP/Getty Images)

The United Nations estimates that more than 120,000 Rohingya people have fled into Bangladesh from Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) in the last two weeks, a number that has jumped significantly since the U.N. refugee organization put its estimate at 60,000 people on Saturday, The Guardian reports.

The refugees are members of the Rohingya Muslim community, an ethnic minority group in Myanmar. Violence broke out after Rohingya militants clashed with Myanmar security forces, and the civilians who fled report being attacked by militants, government troops, and Buddhist mobs alike. Human Rights Watch took satellite photos of one village which appear to show "complete and total" destruction, with 99 percent of buildings ruined.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.