Thousands more Rohingya flee to border as Myanmar violence flares

Myanmar officials have said the country had the right to defend itself from attack, adding that security personnel were told to keep innocent civilians from harm.

Mine explosions and fighting continued, the government said, blaming Rohingya militants for burning down houses and fleeing to the mountains after attacks.

Bangladesh is already host to more than 400,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar since the early 1990s.

Dhaka has asked the U.N. to pressure Myanmar over its treatment of the Muslim minority, saying it cannot take any more.

At least 4,000 people were stranded in no man's land between the two countries, with temporary shelters stretching for several hundred metres on a narrow strip between the Naf river and Myanmar's border fence.

On Tuesday, Reuters reporters saw women, some carrying children and sick people, wade through the river, which narrows to less than 10 metres (11 yards) there. Bangladeshi border guards allowed groups of about six to cross to reach a stack of donated medicines.

Many Rohingya trying to cross were sick and at least six died after crossing over, one aid worker said, adding that some refused to seek help for fear of being caught and sent back.

Shaheen Abdur Rahman, a doctor at a hospital in Cox's Bazar, said 15 people admitted since last week had gunshot wounds, varying from grazes to bleeding in the lung. Four serious cases were sent for treatment to nearby Chittagong.

Injuries also included fractures that could have been suffered in beatings or accidental falls while fleeing, he said.

"We don't discriminate," said Rahman. "Everyone coming to this hospital, whether they're Bangladeshi or not from Bangladesh, we provide due service to them."