A/HRC/39/CRP.2 presence of large numbers of Tatmadaw soldiers and other security forces made it dangerous to travel on main roads or to seek shelter or provisions in other villages. Instead, Rohingya villagers walked for days or weeks in forest and mountain areas, sleeping in makeshift shelters or in the open, during heavy monsoon rains, and without sufficient food or water. This disproportionately affected the most vulnerable, including children and the elderly. Many persons died and were buried in makeshift graves. A woman described her journey, with experiences that were typical of many: It took nine days to reach Bangladesh. On the way, I saw four or five decapitated heads by the side of the path. One of our group died on the journey, a small boy. One woman gave birth. I had a packet of biscuits with me, but nothing else. It was raining heavily. Everything was burning around us.2223 990. One woman, who had seen her husband and son killed in Kha Maung Seik, Maungdaw Township, spent three nights in a forest before arriving in Bangladesh. She recalled how hungry her children were during this period, and how she had to feed them with plant leaves.2224 Another man, from Buthidaung town, described walking for 16 days through the forests to Bangladesh using a small pot to cook leaves to eat, while drinking water from streams. Three people with him died on the journey, including his aunt. 2225 991. Villagers carried injured relatives or neighbours on the journey. 2226 Others were left behind, unable to be carried, with people forced to make difficult decisions. 2227 A survivor from Min Gyi, Maungdaw Township, recalled how she and her sister-in-law had to leave behind another woman: It was very muddy and difficult due to the heavy rain. The other woman was injured, with stab wounds on her neck, and it was very difficult for her to walk. We were all slipping in the mud, and we realised that we could not drag her along with us anymore. We could hear the military and ethnic Rakhine talking nearby at a well, and we knew that, if we kept on waiting for the other woman, we would all be killed. We tried again to move her but we couldn't, and so we decided that we had no choice but to leave her there. My sister-in-law dragged me away and said, “don't look back, there's no point”.2228 992. People succumbed to their injuries, including because of lack of access to medical treatment. Mothers gave birth to babies en route,2229 some of whom may have died or suffered extreme malnutrition.2230 Deaths occurred on the beaches of the Bay of Bengal, as people waited for days for a boat to take them to Bangladesh. One man described seeing babies born on the beach and helping to bury more than 10 people who died there, including children and the elderly: “It was very hot and there was not enough food or water. 2231 993. A large number of Rohingya also drowned while trying to flee to safety across rivers or at sea. Most bodies of water in northern Rakhine were swollen to high levels from the August and September monsoonal rains, and the risks were amplified by dangerous tides. Children, women and the elderly, less able to swim, were particularly vulnerable. 2232 As one man fleeing his village in Zay Di Pyin, Rathedaung Township, recalled, many people attempted to cross a narrow river beside his house. The height of tides forced people to swim rather than wade across. Two sisters, 10 and 12 years old, could not swim and drowned. 2233 2223 2224 2225 2226 2227 2228 2229 2230 2231 2232 2233 238 QI-062. EI-049. QI-061. BI-005, BI-010, BI-014, QI-024, WI-003. CI-029, CI-116, CI-126, CI-179, CI-197, CI-198, QI-071, WI-005. QI-071. CI-111, QI-011, QI-063, See also http://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2018/8/5b75848e4/cant-savelife-give-comfort.html. QI-036, See also http://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2018/8/5b75848e4/cant-save-life-givecomfort.html. QI-011. CI-023, EI-065, LI-107, LI-129. LI-129.