Myanmar ready to take back verified Rohingyas: Suu Kyi

Nay Pyi Taw, May 1: Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi told a visiting UN delegation that the country was ready to allow the return of Rohingya refugees after they complete a verification process, her office said on Tuesday.

On Monday, Suu Kyi, also the State Counsellor, met a delegation of the UN Security Council tasked with investigating the humanitarian crisis, which erupted in August last year after an offensive by the Myanmar military led to the exodus of around 700,000 Rohingya, an ethnic minority group, to neighbouring Bangladesh, reports Efe news.

"During the call, the State Counsellor underscored Myanmar's readiness to receive the verified returnees and necessary cooperation of Bangladesh to expedite the repatriation process quickly," the office said in a Facebook post.

The UN delegation, which arrived here after visiting refugee camps in Bangladesh, also met General Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Myanmar, and other government officials.

On Tuesday, the 15-member delegation - led by Peru's Ambassador to the UN Gustavo Meza-Cuadra whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the UNSC is set to visit Rakhine province in western Myanmar, where the Myanmar Army had unleashed the offensive following a series of attacks on government posts by Rohingya rebels. Earlier on Monday, the Security Council team called on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka.

"Following that meeting, the Security Council delegation flew to Naypyidaw, the Myanmar capital, where it met Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and General Min Aung Hlaing, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces," the spokesman said. (IANS)