Bangladesh wants to send up to 100,000 Rohingya back to Myanmar in the first batch of repatriations of Muslim refugees who fled ethnic violence this year, officials said on Friday Dec 29.
More than 655,000 Rohingya from Myanmar's Rakhine State have sought refuge in Bangladesh since a military crackdown in late August, fleeing what the US and United Nations have described as ethnic cleansing.
Abul Kalam Azad, the government relief commissioner for Rohingya refugees, said a decision was made Thursday by Bangladeshi members of the repatriation working group to send a list of 100,000 refugees to Myanmar.
He told Agence France-Presse (AFP) repatriations would begin after Myanmar verifies the list and the authorities in Bangladesh get consent from willing refugees.
Senior minister Obaidul Quader said a list of 100,000 names was to be sent to Myanmar authorities on Friday so repatriations could start in late January under an accord between the two governments.
Quader also added that repatriations would start as soon as a working group of officials from the two countries finalise a list of names.
Most Rohingya refugees approached by AFP in the camps insist they do not want to return, saying Rakhine is not safe enough. Diplomats have expressed doubt about whether Myanmar will allow substantial numbers to return.
According to Azad, nearly one million Rohingya live in Bangladesh, many of whom have been there for decades. Myanmar has agreed to take back those refugees who arrived since October 2016, believed to number about 700,000
