Bangladesh is home to around a million members of the stateless minority, most of whom fled the 2017 military crackdown now subject to a genocide probe at the International Criminal Court.
“We demand citizenship back from Myanmar. It’s nothing new, we were and are the citizens of Myanmar,” said Kamal Hussain, a Rohingya community leader, yesterday.Several protests were staged across the sprawling patchwork of settlements near the Myanmar border despite monsoon downpours. Budget cuts forced the UN World Food Programme to steeply reduce humanitarian aid to the Rohingya camps this year, with rations now US$8 per refugee, per month.
Bangladesh and Myanmar are working on a pilot programme to begin returning the Rohingya to their homes, despite concerns from rights groups who say conditions are not safe for their return.