THOUSANDS of Rohingya are continuing to flee violence and persecution in Burma and crossing into Bangladesh, where more than half a million others are already living in squalid and overcrowded camps, according to witnesses and drone footage shot by the UN.

The UNHCR video shows thousands of Rohingya trudging along a narrow strip of land alongside what appears to be a rain-swollen river in the Palong Khali area in southern Bangladesh.

Thousands more newcomers were seen near one border crossing yesterday. It was reported that they were stopped by Bangladeshi border guards and spent the night in muddy rice fields.

Local government administrator Mohammad Mikaruzzman said yesterday he heard that some 20,000 people have arrived since Sunday, crossing the border on foot or by boat at several points.

According to the UN, 537,000 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since violence erupted there on August 25. The exodus has continued, with a few small breaks, over the past eight weeks.

The new arrivals, terrified and starving, have described scenes of incredible violence, with army troops and mobs of Buddhist locals attacking Rohingya homes.

The UN has described the violence in Burma’s Rakhine state as “textbook ethnic cleansing”.

More recent refugees have also said the Rohingya were being starved in a bid to make them leave.