Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh: Bangladesh border authorities have arrested over 1173 Rohingyas in targeted operations along the Bangladesh-Burma border since the beginning of 2014, according to a statement by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) .
The BGB statement said that BGB personnel arrested 322 Rohingya in January; 287 in February; 211 in March; 196 in April; and 157 in May as a result of multiple operations along the border. Most of the Rohingya refugees arrested in Bangladesh have sought to escape from the sectarian violence that has plagued Rakhine State since 2012, according to the BGB statement.
As recently as May 18, a group of 24 Rohingyas refugees were arrested on the Bangladeshi island of Shapuri Dip, said Mr. Amin, a local from the adjacent seaside town of Cox’s Bazar. Mr. Amin told Kaladan that the group of refugees had crossed the Naf River separating Burma and Bangladesh in row boat, but were pushed back to the Burmese side on the same day.
In recent years, the government of Bangladesh has tightened security along the Bangladesh-Burma border, where large numbers of refugees from Burma have sought refuge. As part of these efforts, the BGB will continue to search for Rohingya refugees in the area, said a border security officer who declined to be named.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Chief in Dhaka, Stina Lgungdell, told journalists in a recent press briefing that more time is needed before Rohingya refugees who have crossed into Bangladesh can be officially repatriated to Burma.
“The situation in their homeland does not look likely that their repatriation would be possible until the inter-communal violence in northern Rakhine State which [has] occurred since 2012 has been resolved,” the UNHCR chief said.
A number of NGO’s have voiced concern about various forms of persecution directed at Rohingyas in the region, including rape; murder; arbitrary arrest; torture; extortion; harassment; and looting by different actors, including army personnel, police officers, and individuals.
