Bangladesh says agreed with Myanmar for UNHCR to assist Rohingya’s return

Recently arrived Rohingya refugees rest after crossing into Bangladesh, on Friday in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Myanmar and Bangladesh signed a deal on Thursday to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have flooded into Bangladesh during the brutal crackdown on the Rohingya minority. Over 620,000 Rohingya have fled their homes since the brutal crackdown began late August, which has been termed as "ethnic cleansing" by the UN and the US.

Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed to take assistance from the UN refugee agency for the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali said on Saturday .

The two governments signed a pact on Thursday settling terms for the repatriation process, and the return of Rohingya to Myanmar is expected to start in two months. Uncertainty over whether the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) would have a role had prompted rights groups to insist that outside monitors were needed to safeguard the return of the Rohingya to Myanamar.

More than 600,000 Rohingya sought sanctuary in Bangladesh after Myanmar's military launched a brutal counter insurgency in their villages across northern parts of Rakhine State following attacks by Rohingya militants on an army base and police posts on Aug. 25.