UN Requests Bangladesh to Shelter Over 113,000 New Rohingya Refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has urged the Bangladeshi government to accommodate over 113,000 new Rohingya refugees who have arrived from Myanmar’s Rakhine State. This request was made on Monday.
Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, the Commissioner of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission, confirmed the UNHCR’s request to Anadolu Agency, a Turkish state-run news agency. He stated, “Last week, we received a letter from UNHCR, requesting that Bangladesh provide shelter to nearly 113,000 new Rohingya refugees who have crossed over from Myanmar.”
Many of the newly arrived refugees are currently living in tents near the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, while others have sought shelter in schools and mosques.
According to Anadolu Agency, citing a Bangladeshi daily, the new refugees consist of 29,607 families, with 1,448 new families arriving just last week. Most of these families are from Rakhine State and have crossed the Naf River into Bangladesh.
Rahman further mentioned, “UNHCR has requested to house all the newly arrived Rohingyas in the camps, but we have not responded yet. Our concern is that continually providing shelter for these refugees could complicate the process of repatriating them to Myanmar in the future.”
In August 2017, the Arakan Salvation Army (ARSA), an armed Rohingya group, carried out coordinated bombings on several police stations and military outposts in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. In retaliation, Myanmar’s military launched brutal attacks on the predominantly Rohingya areas, leading to widespread violence, including torture, murder, rape, looting, and the burning of homes. As a result, thousands of Rohingyas fled across the Naf River into Bangladesh, where they were provided shelter in Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf area, particularly in the Kutupalong camp. Food and other aid were supplied by the UN and other donor agencies, and the situation has persisted since then. Currently, over 1.5 million Rohingya refugees are living in the Kutupalong camp.
Meanwhile, for nearly a year, intense conflict has been ongoing between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army, an anti-junta armed group in Rakhine. The Arakan Army has taken control of nearly all areas in the state, including the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, except the capital, Sittwe. This has created the possibility of another influx of displaced Rohingyas into Bangladesh.