Pope Francis called on Thursday for decisive measures to resolve the political reasons that caused mostly Muslim refugees in Myanmar to flee to Bangladesh and urged countries to help the Dhaka government deal with the crisis. However, just as on the first leg of his trip, in Myanmar, he did not use the word Rohingya to describe the refugees, which is contested by the Yangon government and military. Scores of Rohingya villages were burnt to the ground, and refugees arriving in Bangladesh told of killings and rapes. Francis is due to meet a group of Rohingya refugees in Dhaka on Friday. Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an accord last week on terms for the return of Rohingya, though rights groups are sceptical Myanmar will follow through on the deal and have called for independent observers for any repatriation.

Source: Dhaka Tribune November 30, 2017 14:44 UTC