Bangladesh Plans to Repatriate Rohingyas from Thursday

Bangladesh Plans to Repatriate Rohingyas from Thursday

Dhaka: Bangladesh will begin to repatriate the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who last year fled a violent military crackdown in Myanmar, from Thursday onwards, an official said on Tuesday. “As of now the decision is that the repatriation will start on November 15,” Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Abul Kalam told Efe news. The two governments agreed to repatriate 2,251 of over 700,000 Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh camps, in the first of a phased process. Kalam added that the initial phase of repatriation that begins Thursday could be completed in two weeks with around 150 Rohingyas going back to Myanmar each day.

Kalam, however, added that local authorities were yet to get the consent of Rohingyas who would be repatriated in the initial phase. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has warned that conditions are not safe for the repatriation of Rohingya to Myanmar from Bangladesh, even as the two countries were preparing for the return process. “The government of Bangladesh has also emphasized that any returns will be voluntary,” he added. The announcement of the Rohingya repatriation comes nearly a year after the two countries inked an agreement on November 23, 2017, to begin the process, following verification. (IANS)

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