The United Nations refugee agency has cautioned against returning ethnic Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar from Bangladesh, urging that officials be allowed to assess whether it is safe for them to return. The Rohingya refugees generally have been denied citizenship and civil rights in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, previously known as Burma, where prejudice against them runs high. The UNHCR said it supports the “voluntary and sustainable repatriation of Rohingya refugees in safety and in dignity to their places of origin or choice, and will work with all parties towards this goal”. Sunday’s government statement said the returning Rohingya would stay at repatriation camps for two days and receive food and clothing before moving on to transit camps. The Rohingya exodus began after Burmese security forces launched a brutal crackdown following co-ordinated insurgent attacks in August 2017.

Source: The Irish Times November 12, 2018 16:09 UTC