Rohingya refugee crisis

A Turkish relief agency on Jan. 30 dispatched aid packages to Rohingya refugees in the southeastern Cox's Bazaar district of Bangladesh.

Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (İHH) sent packages of food and supplies for winter to 44,825 refugees who fled the genocide being committed in Myanmar.

At least 14 people drowned and dozens more were unaccounted for after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees sank off southern Bangladesh early on Feb. 11, officials said.    

Some 130 people were packed on the fishing trawler that was trying to get across the Bay of Bengal to Malaysia, coast guard spokesman Hamidul Islam told AFP. Seventy of them had so far been rescued.    

Rohingya Muslims who fled persecution in Myanmar and found shelter in refugee camps in Bangladesh have said they do not want to go back, with some even going into hiding out of fear of being sent back this week. Click through for İdris Emen's story in photos...

Myanmar rejected Wednesday the findings of a UN probe alleging genocide by its military against the Rohingya, after the US and other countries joined growing calls for the accused to face justice.

A boat carrying dozens of Rohingya from Myanmar arrived in Malaysia on yesteray and the members of the stateless Muslim minority will be allowed to enter the country, authorities said.

A Bangladesh official said on March 29 that Myanmar had approved several hundred Rohingya from a list of thousands to return to their homeland, but provided no indication of when the long-delayed process would begin.

A senior Bangladesh cabinet minister has accused Myanmar of obstructing efforts to repatriate roughly 750,000 Rohingya refugees, saying it was unlikely the displaced Muslims would ever return to their homeland.

The European Union will start preparing sanctions against Myanmar generals over killings of Rohingya Muslims by formally calling on the bloc’s foreign policy chief next week to draw up a list of possible names, two diplomats said.

Representatives from Bangladesh and Myanmar will meet on Feb. 20 to discuss the repatriation to Myanmar of more than 6,500 Rohingya Muslims trapped on a strip of unclaimed land between the two countries, Bangladeshi officials said.

A Myanmar minister told Bangladesh’s president that Myanmar is ready to take back Rohingya Muslims who fled violence, though Bangladesh said it wanted the hundreds of thousands of refugees to have a safe and dignified return.