DHAKA: At least 10 Bangladeshis were among the dead, along with at least 30 Rohingya, in remote jungle near the site of a mass grave in Songkhla province of Thailand, where over 800 refugees were being held in several camps.
Thailand-based English daily The Bangkok Post reported on Sunday, quoting survivors.
Two youths, aged 14 and 17, said they had been held at the camp for eight months, and that the prisoners had been dispersed shortly before officers moved in on Friday.
It came as early reports began to emerge of the horrific conditions endured by prisoners being held at the remote border camp, where 26 bodies have now been recovered mostly from shallow graves.
“We were the people who could not pay the ransom so they kept us and did not really care whether we lived or died,” 28-year-old survivor Anuzar, who was found at the grave site on Friday, told news website Phuketwan.
“Most of us have been beaten or abused … In the camp, we were never able to get enough food or water. Showering seldom happened.”
Anuzar said he believed 10 Bangladeshis were among the dead scattered near the camp, along with at least 30 Rohingya.
“Eight brokers controlled the camp,” Anuzar said. “I knew three well — Ahmed Ali, Anwar and Sorim-Ida. Some are Rohingya, some are Malaysian.”
Sirichai Leewannapasai, chief of Songkhla’s Public Health Office, said yesterday that Anuzar’s condition is not serious. He suffered from fatigue and a lack of food, and also has a slight fever, but is making a steady recovery.
The camp itself is located in about two rai of thick jungle at the top of a mountain close to the Malaysian border, and commands sweeping views of all possible approaches. Of the 39 structures built at the site, 26 are sleeping quarters, and the rest are kitchens, bathrooms and an observation tower, police said.
The mass grave site was found in a clearing about 50 metres from the main camp, which police believe had been in operation for a “long time”.
“From the evidence given by witnesses who were in the camp, we believe there was violence here and people died from the violence,” Pol Gen Jarumporn Suramanee said.
It took a team of 100 forensic experts and rescue workers more than four hours yesterday to exhume another 21 bodies from shallow graves in the remote jungle camp.
Police are now expanding their probe to cover a human trafficking network in Nakhon Si Thammarat suspected of being linked to the camp.
Search and rescue missions are also being conducted in areas surrounding the camp looking for other potential survivors, Pol Gen Ake said.
BDST: 1521 HRS, MAY 03, 2015
HB/RS
