Arakan News Agency
United Nations agencies have reported that thousands continue to flow into Bangladesh to escape the violence in the northern state of Arakan.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokesman Joel Millman, about 800,000 Rohingya live in Bangladesh, of which 589,000 have arrived since the end of August.
Millman said at a press conference in Geneva:
“Until late last night, the Bangladeshi army transferred more than 6,900 Rohingya refugees, stranded in poor conditions in no man’s land (border area not belonging to either country) in Anjuman Bara on the Bangladeshi side of the border to several temporary settlements at Cox’s Bazaar. We believe 800,000 Rohingya now live in settlements. We estimate that the number of people displaced since August 25th reached 589 thousand people. “
This follows the visit of the Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), William Lacey Swing, to Bangladesh, where he met with Bangladeshi officials, who reiterated the Bangladeshi government’s commitment to allow Rohingya to seek protection from violence inside the country.
UNHCR said it was moving the most vulnerable groups of newcomers from the border to transit centers near Kutupalong camp, where they and their partners were providing food, water, medical checks and temporary shelter.
