Rohingya repatriation delayed due to cease-fire breakdown with rebels: Myanmar's envoy

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - The efforts to repatriate displaced Rohingya have been delayed due to the cease-fire breakdown between the junta regime and rebels in Myanmar, a top Burmese diplomat in Dhaka said on Wednesday.

“Efforts toward the repatriation of displaced persons had been delayed due to the cease-fire breakdown by the Arakan Army in November 2023,” Ambassador U Kyaw Soe Moe told Bangladesh's Foreign Affairs Adviser Md. Touhid Hossain in Dhaka.

Reiterating the need for the safe and sustainable repatriation of the displaced Rohingya population, Hossain underscored the importance of peace and stability in Myanmar.

“Regional stability is crucial for both the nations,” he told the Burmese diplomat.

Hossain also expressed deep concern over the recent influx of more than 40,000 Myanmar nationals into Bangladesh fleeing conflict in the bordering states, according to a statement by the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry.

Bangladesh is already hosting approximately 1.2 million Rohingya refugees who fled a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in 2017. Most live in overcrowded camps in Cox's Bazar, with around 35,000 relocated to Bhasan Char Island since 2020.

Bangladesh transitional government chief Muhammad Yunus earlier on Monday also proposed creating a UN-guaranteed "safe zone" in Myanmar’s Rakhine state to aid displaced people and address the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Myanmar has been under junta rule since February 2021, and the military, locally known as the Tatmadaw, has faced severe resistance from ethnic groups in many regions of the country.

At least three ethnic armed groups, which united under the “Brotherhood Alliance,” have been fighting the junta regime since late October to take control of the northern parts of Myanmar.

The groups are attacking junta forces, which rule the Buddhist-majority Southeast Asian nation, capturing many towns and junta outposts. Many people have been reported killed during the attacks.

The cease-fire, mediated by China, has broken several times.