Rohingya Muslims have started moving to Bangladesh once again in the backdrop of fresh ethnic violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
Locals in Cox’s bazaar said that nearly 3,000 Rohingya refugees, boarded on around 50 boats were waiting in Bay of Bengal to cross the Naff river from Myanmar. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) sources said they had pushed back 52 Rohingyas in the last few days. This is the second time that sectarian violence in Myanmar forced the Rohingyas to flee the country this year. Myanmar’s Muslims reportedly abandoned plans to celebrate Id al-Azha because of the violence.
Bangladesh officials said they would resist any refugee influx from their southern neighbour’s territory. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) urged the Bangladesh government to allow the “stateless” people to take refuge. The Rohingya influx began in 1979 followed by one in 1991 due to alleged persecution. Though manyhave returned in phases, thousands continue to reside in Cox’s Bazar’s refugee camps.A section of Rohingyas were allegedly lured into militancy by Bangladesh’s fundamentalist lobbies. Some probe reports also found evidence of their likely involvement in anti-Buddhist attacks in Cox’s Bazar last month.
