50,000 Rohingyas mass at Bangladesh border as Rakhine fighting escalates
PARBATTA NEWS ONLINE DESK
Around 50,000 Rohingyas have gathered near the Bangladesh border after fleeing intensified fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, raising fears of a new influx into Bangladesh, officials said on Sunday.
The warning came during a meeting of the National Task Force on the Rohingya issue at the foreign ministry in Dhaka, chaired by Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam.
More than 1.2 million Rohingyas are already sheltering in camps in Cox’s Bazar, according to UN and Bangladeshi government figures. About 120,000 more have crossed into Bangladesh in the past 18 months as clashes between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army escalated.
UN representatives told the meeting that aid shortages are worsening camp conditions. Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammad Mizanur Rahman said the World Food Programme has not secured funds for food supplies beyond November. He added that a lack of funding for LPG distribution after September could force residents to cut trees for fuel.
An official said donor countries often fail to deliver on nearly half of the aid they pledge for Rohingya management.
Siam said Dhaka is working to keep the crisis on the international agenda, including through a UN-backed conference in New York. Bangladesh will also host a conference in Cox’s Bazar on Aug 25.
Before Sunday’s meeting, Siam briefed foreign diplomats and international agencies in Dhaka, urging them to fulfil funding commitments.
Foreign Ministry Secretary Md Nazrul Islam, Refugee Relief Commissioner Rahman, UN representatives and government agencies involved in camp operations, among others, attended the meeting.
