(AFP) -- More than 500,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled ethnic bloodshed in Myanmar in the past month and numbers are again swelling, with Bangladesh reporting 4-5,000 civilians now crossing the border each day after a brief lull in arrivals.

An estimated 10,000 more have reportedly massed in Myanmar near a crossing point into Bangladesh, and are poised to join the hundreds of thousands of mainly Rohingya refugees eking out survival in wretched camps over the border.

The spike in new arrivals -- prompted by what Rohingya say is a fresh drive to purge Muslims still in westernmost Rakhine state -- casts doubt on a Myanmar proposal aired this week to start repatriating the persecuted minority.

(Photo: AFP)