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Myanmar Rohingya crisis: Deal to allow return of Rohingya Muslims | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Bangladesh has signed a deal with Myanmar to return hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled a recent army crackdown. | Bangladesh has signed a deal with Myanmar to return hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled a recent army crackdown. |
No details have been released of the deal, which was signed by officials in the Myanmar capital, Nay Pyi Taw. | No details have been released of the deal, which was signed by officials in the Myanmar capital, Nay Pyi Taw. |
Bangladesh said it was a "first step". Myanmar said it was ready to receive the Rohingya "as soon as possible". | |
Aid agencies have raised concerns about the forcible return of the Rohingya unless their safety can be guaranteed. | |
The Rohingya are a stateless minority who have long experienced persecution in Myanmar, also known as Burma. | |
More than 600,000 have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since violence erupted in Rakhine state late in August. | |
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Myanmar's military action against the minority Rohingya population constituted ethnic cleansing. | On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Myanmar's military action against the minority Rohingya population constituted ethnic cleansing. |
Last week the Burmese army exonerated itself of blame regarding the Rohingya crisis. | Last week the Burmese army exonerated itself of blame regarding the Rohingya crisis. |
It denied killing any Rohingya people, burning their villages, raping women and girls, and stealing possessions. | It denied killing any Rohingya people, burning their villages, raping women and girls, and stealing possessions. |
The assertions contradict evidence seen by BBC correspondents of a crisis the United Nations has also called ethnic cleansing. | The assertions contradict evidence seen by BBC correspondents of a crisis the United Nations has also called ethnic cleansing. |
How soon any repatriation process from Bangladesh might begin, or Myanmar's conditions of return, remain unclear. | |
Both countries are under pressure on the issue, for different reasons. | |
Bangladesh wants to show its population that the Rohingya will not be permanent residents - it was already hosting about 400,000 before the latest influx. | |
The Burmese authorities - and particularly de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi - are responding to international calls to do more to resolve the crisis. |