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| Burma and Bangladesh sign deal to repatriate 'hundreds of thousands' of Rohingya Muslim refugees | Burma and Bangladesh sign deal to repatriate 'hundreds of thousands' of Rohingya Muslim refugees |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Burma and Bangladesh have signed an agreement to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who have fled the country, a Burmese official has said. | Burma and Bangladesh have signed an agreement to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who have fled the country, a Burmese official has said. |
| "We are ready to take them back as soon as possible after Bangladesh sends the forms back to us," said Myint Kyaing, a permanent secretary at Burma's ministry of labour, immigration and population, referring to registration forms the Rohingya must complete before they are repatriated. | |
| At least 620,000 Rohingya from Burma's Rakhine state have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh, seeking refuge from what Burma's military has called "clearance operations". | |
| The crisis started in August, when Rohingya insurgents attacked Burmese security forces, triggering a brutal crackdown in which soldiers and Buddhist vigilante groups killed men, raped women and girls and burned homes to force the Rohingya to leave. | |
| The Burma-Bangladesh agreement comes after the US on Wednesday described the ongoing violence against the Muslim minority as "ethnic cleansing" and threatened penalties for military officials. | |
| "After a careful and thorough analysis of available facts, it is clear that the situation in northern Rakhine state constitutes ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya," US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement. | |
| The US embassy in Burma on Thursday suspended official travel to parts of Rakhine and warned citizens against visiting the areas, citing fears of a backlash against Mr Tillerson’s comments. | |
| Burma is seeking to ease international pressure with the new memorandum, while Bangladesh is keen to ensure refugee camps, which have sprung up in the Cox's Bazar region, do not become permanent. | |
| More follows… | More follows… |