Bangladesh has been accused of starving and blocking medical treatment for Rohingya refugees.

The refugees, locked up in open-air prisons, have been forced to flee Myanmar where they were persecuted by that country’s military dictatorship.

A US medical charity has warned the Rohingya are facing starvation.

The Physicians for Human Rights group has blamed the Bangladesh government for lack of care of the refugees, as well as arbitrary arrests, illegal expulsion and forced internment.

Bangladeshi authorities have granted refugee status to the Rohingya, who live in United Nations refugee camps in Kutupalong.

The Bangladeshi government has said the numbers of refugees have recently swelled to around 300,000, causing them to crack down on refugees generally, trying to stop them from entering the country.

Dhaka has rejected the charges of refusing aid to the Rohingya, calling them totally false.

Rohingya people are some of the poorest and most persecuted ethnic groups in the world.

Myanmar’s military regime has denied them citizenship and refused to let them own land, to travel or marry without first getting permission from the authorities.