Bangladesh has told the UN Security Council that it will no longer be able to take in refugees from Myanmar. It was also mention that the situation had gone from “bad to worse”. The council was called upon to take “decisive” action. Since August 2017, more than 700,000 people have fled into Bangladesh from northern Rakhine State, amid an army crackdown.
The refugees are mainly Muslims who identify as Rohingya. More recently, ethnic Rakhine refugees have arrived in Bangladesh, amid renewed fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA). “Here, I regret to inform the council that Bangladesh would no longer be in a position to accommodate more people from Myanmar,” Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque was quoted as saying. Myanmar’s Ambassador to the UN Hau Do Suan, defended the government’s actions, saying that steps were being taken to return refugees. The ambassador also called for patience on the issue. While Myanmar has insisted that it is ready to begin the repatriation of refugees, many in the international community say that conditions on the ground are not conducive to returns taking place. The reasons cited were a lack of guarantees for safety and citizenship for returnees.