Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed on Tuesday to complete within two years the return of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who had fled an army crackdown last year in Myanmar
A Rohingya refugee carries a child as they arrive from Myanmar into Bangladesh. Pic/AFP
Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed on Tuesday to complete within two years the return of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who had fled an army crackdown last year in Myanmar.
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The UN Refugee Agency, responding to the plan, raised a concern about forcibly repatriating over 6,50,000 Rohingya who fled to neighbouring Bangladesh. Statements from both the Myanmar and Bangladesh foreign ministries said Bangladesh would set up five transit camps on its side of the border. Those camps would send Rohingyas to two reception centres in Myanmar.
The repatriation process would start next Tuesday, the statements said. Myanmar said it would build a transit camp that can house 30,000 returnees. The Bangladesh statement said, "Myanmar has reiterated its commitment to stop (the) outflow of Myanmar residents to Bangladesh." The Bangladesh statement called for repatriating orphans and "children born out of unwarranted incidence," a reference to cases of rape resulting in pregnancy, said a Bangladesh foreign ministry official.
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