The number of Rohingya who have fled fighting in western Myanmar has climbed sharply to 270,000, placing a huge strain on camps in Bangladesh where they are seeking shelter, the United Nations refugee agency said Friday.

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The refugees in Bangladesh are mostly women and children who have arrived by foot, the United Nations refugee agency said. Some have attempted to make a dangerous crossing by boat. Last week at least 46 Rohingya were found dead along the banks of the Naf River, which forms part of the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic group that has faced severe repression in Myanmar, where a Buddhist majority has long ruled. About one million of them live in Rakhine State in the west of the country. Another 300,000 to 500,000 live in Bangladesh, many of them in grim refugee camps.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate for her long struggle against military rule, has come under increasing international criticism for the plight of the Rohingya. Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, also a Nobel laureate, wrote in a letter Thursday that it was “incongruous for a symbol of righteousness to lead such a country” that “is not at peace with itself, that fails to acknowledge and protect the dignity and worth of all its people.”