In its statement on Sunday, the UNHCR called on Myanmar to ensure any returns are voluntary, safe and dignified. Myanmar’s claim of the first repatriation comes just days after the UNHCR said conditions in Myanmar were not conducive for a return of refugees. The army has said its crackdown was provoked by the attacks of Rohingya militants on more than two dozen police posts and an army base last August. Myanmar has denied nearly all allegations, saying it waged a legitimate counter-insurgency operation. Myanmar set up two reception centres and what it says is a temporary camp near the border in Rakhine to receive the first arrivals.Īccording to UN officials, nearly 7,00,000 Rohingya have fled into Bangladesh from Rakhine to escape a military crackdown since August, amid reports of murder, rape and arson by Myanmar troops and Buddhist vigilantes which the United Nations has likened to “ethnic cleansing”. Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in January to complete a voluntary repatriation of the refugees in two years.
