Caution over Rohingya

Geneva: The United Nations’ human rights investigator on Myanmar urged Bangladesh yesterday to drop plans to start repatriating hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees to Rakhine state this month, warning they would face a ‘‘high risk of persecution’’.

More than 700,000 Rohingya refugees crossed into Bangladesh after Rohingya insurgent attacks on Myanmar security forces in August 2017 triggered a sweeping military crackdown.

The two countries agreed last month to begin the returns to Myanmar in midNovember, but the UN refugee agency has already said conditions were ‘‘not yet conducive for returns’’.