Rohingya refugees mark anniversary of exodus and demand safe return to Myanmar

Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar who live in sprawling camps in Bangladesh marked the seventh anniversary of their mass exodus on Sunday, and demanded a safe return to Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

The refugees gathered in an open field at Kutupalong camp in the Cox’s Bazar district, carrying banners and festoons reading “Hope is Home” and “We Rohingya are the citizens of Myanmar”, defying the rain on what has been designated Rohingya Genocide Day.

On August 25 2017, hundreds of thousands of refugees started crossing the border to Bangladesh on foot and by boat amid indiscriminate killings and other violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

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Myanmar had launched a brutal crackdown following attacks by an insurgent group on guard posts.

The scale, organisation and ferocity of the operation led to accusations from the international community, including the United Nations, of ethnic cleansing and genocide.

then-Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina ordered border guards to open the border, eventually allowing more than 700,000 refugees to take shelter in the Muslim-majority nation.

The influx was in addition to the more than 300,000 refugees who had already been living in Bangladesh for decades in the wake of waves of previous violence perpetrated by Myanmar’s military.

Since 2017, Bangladesh has attempted at least twice to send the refugees back and has urged the international community to build pressure on Myanmar for a peaceful environment that could help start the repatriation. Ms Hasina also sought help from China to mediate.

But in the recent past, the situation in Rakhine state has become more volatile after a group called the Arakan Army started fighting against Myanmar’s security forces.

The renewed chaos forced more refugees to flee towards Bangladesh and elsewhere in a desperate move to save their lives.

Hundreds of Myanmar soldiers and border guards also took shelter inside Bangladesh to flee the violence, but Bangladesh later handed them over to Myanmar peacefully.

As the protests took place in camps in Bangladesh on Sunday, the UN and other rights groups expressed their concern over the ongoing chaos in Myanmar.

Washington-based Refugees International said in a statement on Sunday: “In Rakhine state, increased fighting between Myanmar’s military junta and the AA (Arakan Army) over the past year has both caught Rohingya in the middle and seen them targeted.

“The AA has advanced and burned homes in Buthidaung, Maungdaw, and other towns, recently using drones to bomb villages.

“The junta has forcibly recruited Rohingya and bombed villages in retaliation. Tens of thousands of Rohingya have been newly displaced, including several who have tried to flee into Bangladesh.”

Unicef said the agency has received alarming reports that civilians, particularly children and families, are being targeted or caught in the crossfire, resulting in deaths and severe injuries, making humanitarian access in Rakhine extremely challenging.