“Now, we will start the next step of our work,” Bangladesh foreign minister A.H. Mahmood Ali told reporters after the meeting. Bangladesh, Myanmar agree to start Rohingya return in two monthAn estimated 655,000 refugees from the stateless minority group have poured across the border into Bangladesh since August, fleeing what the US and United Nations have described as ethnic cleansing. Responding to international pressure, Suu Kyi’s civilian government signed an agreement with Bangladesh to start the repatriation of the stateless Muslim refugees within two months. Testimonies gathered by AFP from displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh suggest few refugees wish to return to Myanmar, where many saw their villages burned to ashes and loved ones killed. Aid groups have warned Myanmar they would boycott any new camps for Rohingya returnees, saying refugees must be allowed to settle in their own homes and not forced into ghetto-like conditions.

Source: The Express Tribune December 19, 2017 09:45 UTC