Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh

insists its forces are fighting terrorists who have killed civilians and burnt villages.

Mark Lowcock, UN Under- Secretary- General for Humanitarian Affairs, reiterated an appeal for access to the population in northern Rakhine, saying the situation was “unacceptable”. Meanwhile, Joel Millman of the International Organisation for Migration, said an estimated 2 000 Rohingya are arriving in Bangladesh every day.

The official Myanmar News Agency said on Friday that large numbers of Muslims were preparing to cross the border because of livelihood difficulties, health problems and fear of becoming a min- ority.

Aid agencies have warned that about 281 000 people in Bangladesh are in urgent need of food, including 145 000 children under five and more than 50 000 pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Cholera is a risk, amid fears of disease spreading in the rain-drenched camps where aid workers are trying to install sanitation systems, a spokesman for the World Health Organisation said.

About 900 000 doses of cholera vaccine are due to arrive this weekend and a vaccination campaign should start on Tuesday.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said Myanmar is ready to start a process agreed with Bangladesh in 1993 by which anyone verified as a refugee would be accepted back.

Lowcock said talks between Myanmar and Bangladesh on a repatriation plan were a useful first step.

Both the US and Britain have warned Myanmar the crisis is putting at risk the progress it has made since the military began to loosen its grip on power.

China, which built close ties with Myanmar while it was under military rule , has been supportive.

In Washington, US officials said sanctions and the withholding of aid were among the options available to press Myanmar to halt the violence but they had to be careful to avoid worsening the crisis. – Reuters