Humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh as 313,000 Rohingyas flee Myanmar

11 Sep 2017: At least 313,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar in the past two weeks and sought shelter in Bangladesh, a Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) report released on Monday stated.

At least 400,000 hungry and traumatized refugees have sought refuge in Bangladesh since October 2016.

The exodus has put pressure on aid agencies and communities, which were already helping hundreds of thousands of refugees from previous violent episodes in Myanmar.

Following are a few details gathered from United Nations’ sources working in Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh, situated on the Myanmar border.

- The refugee influx on Sunday was observed to be lower compared with other days.

- The district administration conducted a site visit to discuss the allocation of 1,500 acres of land adjacent to the Kutupalong Makeshift Settlement in order to accommodate more refugees in the Kutupalong/Balukhali area. People have already settled in some parts of this proposed land.

According to reports, the local administration plans to start biometric registration of the new arrivals from Monday.

- At least 3,989 households were provided rice on Sunday, the second day of rice distribution.

- The majority of referred medical cases comprised lower respiratory tract infection, skin diseases and acute diarrhea.

- An estimate of 883 refugees received psychological first aid.

- Until Sunday, a total of 925 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have been identified in registered refugee camps.