Pledge to repatriate Rohingya muslims

REFUGEES HAVE BEEN STRANDED

BURMA has struck a deal with Bangladesh to resettle more than 6,000 Rohingya Muslims who have been stranded in a no-man’s-land between the two countries.

The move comes as plans for the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of other Rohingya Muslims have been delayed over concerns for their safety if they return to Burma, officials said.

About 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled army-led violence in Buddhist-majority Burma since August and are living in refugee camps in Bangladesh. Some, however, became stranded at the Tombru border point after Burma reportedly began building bunkers and told the refugees to leave and enter Bangladesh, which denied their entry. Ali Hossain, the top government administrator in Cox’s Bazar district, said officials from the countries agreed that Burma would identify the stranded refugees and then resettle them.

Bangladesh Relief and Refugee Commissioner Abul Kalam said they went to the site to “encourage the refugees” to go back voluntarily. He said: “The refugees told us they want to go back and get settled in their homes. We pressed the Myanmar authorities to create a congenial and safe atmosphere.”

Burma’s security forces have been accused of atrocities against the Rohingya, including killing, rape and arson. The United Nations has described the army crackdown as ethnic cleansing.