On the seventh anniversary of their mass exodus, tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh expressed their yearning for a safe return to Myanmar's Rakhine state. Gathering at Kutupalong camp in Cox's Bazar, they displayed banners reading "Hope is Home" and "We Rohingya are the citizens of Myanmar," braving the rain on what is known as "Rohingya Genocide Day."
Amidst a brutal crackdown by Myanmar's military, on August 25, 2017, the Rohingya began to flee en masse to Bangladesh. Then-Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the borders, eventually sheltering over 700,000 new refugees. Bangladesh has tried at least twice to repatriate the refugees and has asked the international community for assistance in pressuring Myanmar to grant them a safe environment. But things remain volatile in Myanmar, where the military has been clashing for the past year with a group called the Arakan Army.
Refugees International detailed the escalation of violence, stating, "In Rakhine state, increased fighting between Myanmar's military junta and the AA (Arakan Army) over the past year has both caught Rohingya in the middle and seen them targeted. The AA has advanced and burned homes in Buthidaung, Maungdaw, and other towns, recently using drones to bomb villages. The junta has forcibly recruited Rohingya and bombed villages in retaliation. Tens of thousands of Rohingya have been newly displaced, including several who have tried to flee into Bangladesh." (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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