Mohammadi News Agency News – Features – Photo
MNA Exclusive Desk: Rohingya refugees are fleeing the camps in Bangladesh, and some have gone into hiding, out of fear of being sent back to Myanmar this week, according to aid groups, reports news agency.
Repatriation of the Rohingya is scheduled to begin on Thursday, but it is proving controversial, with the first batch of 4,000 “approved” refugees put on a list for return without their consent and most, if not all, have said they do not want to go back to Myanmar under current conditions.
“The authorities repeatedly tried to motivate the ones on the returning refugee list to go back. But instead, they were intimidated and fled to other camps,” said Nur Islam, from Jamtoli refugee camp.
The account was echoed by Crisis Group, who said that interviews with those in the camps “indicate that some of the refugees on the list for return have gone into hiding out of fear of being repatriated.” The Guardian previously reported on two suicide attempts by Rohingya after finding out they had been listed for return.
Over 700,000 Rohingya have crossed over the border from Rakhine state to Bangladesh since August 2017, fleeing a violent crackdown by the military and the Buddhist locals which saw their villages razed to the ground, women raped and thousands killed.
