Maungdaw, Myanmar | AFP | A Myanmar official in Rakhine state said Saturday that Rohingya refugees who return will not be held in newly-built camps “forever,” as concerns mount over a vexed repatriation process. Ye Htut, the administrator of Maungdaw district, was speaking to reporters on a government-chaperoned trip to …
Read More »Rohingya flee no man’s land after Myanmar threat
Tombru, Bangladesh | AFP | Hundreds of Rohingya living in no man’s land have left their makeshift camp and crossed into Bangladesh after soldiers from Myanmar used loud hailers to threaten them, community leaders said Wednesday. Around 6,000 Rohingya have been living on a thin stretch of land between the two …
Read More »Myanmar seizes drugs and equipment worth $7 mn in lab raid
Yangon, Myanmar | AFP | Myanmar troops seized $7 million worth of narcotics, precursors and equipment in a raid on drug labs in the restive north, the army said Monday, as it continues a war against ethnic rebels accused of profiting from the drug trade. Soldiers and local officials found …
Read More »Myanmar farmers going against the grain with apps
Aye Ywar , Myanmar | AFP | A free app on farmer San San Hla’s smartphone is her new weapon in the war against the dreaded stem borer moth that blighted her rice paddy in southern Myanmar for the last two years. As she watches her workers haul in this …
Read More »Myanmar still not safe for Rohingya to return: UN refugee chief
United Nations, United States | AFP | Myanmar has failed to put in place conditions for the safe return of 688,000 Rohingya refugees who fled an army crackdown six months ago, the UN refugee chief said Monday. The refugees are sheltering in makeshift camps in Bangladesh despite an agreement reached between …
Read More »Myanmar minister orders Rohingya to leave no man’s land
Dhaka, Bangladesh | AFP | A Myanmar government minister has told Rohingya refugees living in a makeshift camp on the Bangladesh border they should take up a government offer to return, warning they will face “consequences” if they stay where they are. A video circulated on social media apparently shows …
Read More »UK’s Johnson meets Myanmar’s Suu Kyi on Rohingya crisis
Naypyidaw, Myanmar | AFP | Britain’s foreign minister Boris Johnson met with Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar’s capital on Sunday to press for action on the Rohingya crisis, as the country faces mounting pressure to punish troops accused of atrocities against the Muslim minority. Johnson spoke with the embattled …
Read More »Petrol bomb thrown at Suu Kyi’s lakeside villa: Myanmar govt
Yangon, MYANMAR | AFP | A petrol bomb was thrown at the lakeside Yangon compound of Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday while she was away from her home, a government spokesman said. “It was a petrol bomb,” spokesman Zaw Htay confirmed to AFP, without giving further details …
Read More »Rohingya repatriation won’t begin Tuesday as planned: Bangladesh
Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh | AFP | The repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar due to begin Tuesday will be delayed, a Bangladesh official said, citing the huge task of preparing transit centres and approving lists of returnees. Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Abul Kalam Azad did …
Read More »UN chief concerned about deal on return of Myanmar’s Rohingya
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday expressed concerns after Myanmar and Bangladesh reached a deal on the return of hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingyas that sidelined the UN refugee agency. “We believe it would be very important to have UNHCR fully involved in …
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