Rohingyas being recruited by ‘terrorist, fanatic’ groups due to delayed repatriation: Bangladesh

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Terrorist and fanatic groups are recruiting Rohingya refugees stranded in Bangladesh as repatriation to their native Myanmar remains deadlocked, Bangladesh’s top diplomat said Sunday.

“Terrorist and fanatic groups are recruiting their members from Rohingya camps. This is creating security problems not just for our country, there is also a risk from growing terrorist networks for neighboring countries and the region,” Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud told a security meeting at the refugee relief and repatriation commissioner’s office in the southeastern district of Cox’s Bazar.

The Rohingya Muslims, who fled a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine in 2017, have also claimed that Myanmar separatist groups were forcibly recruiting members from their community.

“The Rohingya youths in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar are living in constant fear and trepidation due to the presence of criminals there,” a Rohingya rights activist told Anadolu on condition of anonymity over security concerns.

He claimed that the groups in question collaborated with their local handlers to detain more than 100 Rohingya youths and sold them out to the Myanmar military regime for a huge amount of money.

They were handed over to be used as human shields in the fight between Rakhine rebels and the military regime, he added.

- 'Conflict cannot be excuse for delay’

Asked whether the repatriation of Rohingya refugees was being delayed by the conflict in Rakhine and whether the Arakan Army rebels would play a role there, Foreign Minister Mahmud said, “We engage with the government.”

"Look at the history of the last 70-80 years, Myanmar has never been free from unrest. But that cannot be an excuse for not taking back the Rohingya -- who are citizens of Myanmar and have been there for hundreds of years," the minister added.

The ongoing conflict in Myanmar has also seen hundreds of members of the Myanmar border police and junta army flee to Bangladesh.

Currently, 138 Myanmar soldiers are taking refuge in Bangladesh, said the minister adding that they would be sent back.

Dhaka has already returned 618 Myanmar soldiers and other officials, who crossed the border into Bangladesh after fleeing the conflict between the Myanmar military and rebel groups.

The conflict has also pushed persecuted Rohingya Muslims to attempt crossing into Bangladesh’s Cox's Bazar district, which is already hosting some 1.2 million refugees.