'Myanmar yet to create safe atmosphere for Rohingya repatriation'

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said although Myanmar has agreed to take back 800,000 Rohingyas, the country is yet to create a congenial atmosphere for their repatriation.

"Initiatives are underway to send back 800,000, out of the 1.2 million Rohingyas," the minister said at a prize-giving ceremony at Mirabazar Model High School in Sylhet on Saturday, reports UNB.

"The repatriation has been delayed as Myanmar is yet to create a congenial atmosphere," Foreign Minister Momen said. "But we've taken measures to send back the Rohingya to Myanmar safely."

More than 7,00,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh after Myanmar security forces launched a brutal offensive following militant attacks on border outposts and a military base in late August 2017. Myanmar security forces have been accused of murder, rape, torture and rape during the crackdown but they deny the charges.

The United Nations described the military offensive as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".

Bangladesh and Myanmar have signed agreement to repatriate the Rohingya. But members of the minority, still haunted by the horror in the Rakhine state, have resisted the move to send them back. They have sought the UN's intervention and demanded creating a safe environment for them.