Cox’s Bazar, MINA – Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh held a mass demonstration on Monday to mark the eighth anniversary of what they describe as genocide carried out by Myanmar’s military in 2017, when thousands were killed, abused, and forced to flee their homes.
More than 35,000 refugees gathered at a football field in Camp 4, Cox’s Bazar, calling for accountability, restoration of their rights and safe return to Myanmar’s Rakhine State, the Arakan News Agency (ANA) reported. Protesters carried banners and chanted for an end to killings and violence against Rohingya.
In August 2017, Myanmar’s armed forces (the Tatmadaw) launched a campaign in Rakhine State that international observers say involved mass killings, the burning of villages and widespread sexual violence. The operation drove over 750,000 Rohingya across the border into Bangladesh.
Those who remain in Rakhine continue to face serious abuses, with reports of killings, torture, forced labour and village destruction amid renewed fighting and the presence of the Rakhine insurgent group Arakan Army (AA) since late 2023.
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Bangladesh now hosts more than one million Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar, which the United Nations has called the world’s largest refugee settlement. Overcrowding and a sharp drop in international funding have severely curtailed essential services, leaving refugees heavily dependent on humanitarian aid.[]
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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