Thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh call for safe return to Myanmar
Dhaka – Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees living in scattered camps across Bangladesh have demanded a safe return to Myanmar’s Rakhine State during a gathering in Cox’s Bazar on the seventh anniversary of their mass displacement.
Local reports indicated that the refugees assembled at the Kutupalong camp in Cox’s Bazar, holding banners calling for their return to Myanmar and messages such as “Hope in Our Homeland” and “We, the Rohingya, are Myanmar Citizens.”
In August 2017, Myanmar’s military launched a brutal campaign against the Muslim Rohingya minority, described by the United Nations as “ethnic cleansing.” Over 1.2 million Rohingya fled to Cox’s Bazar in southeastern Bangladesh.
According to the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), at least 6,700 Rohingya, including more than 730 children have been killed since the breakout of violence. Moreover, Amnesty International indicated that the Myanmar military also raped and abused Rohingya women and girls.
