WFP Chief Visits Rohingya in Bangladesh; Calls to end ‘Horrors’

Cox’s Bazar, MINA – Executive Director of the World Food Program (WFP) David Beasley on Sunday called for an end to the “horrors” driving Rohingyas by the tens of thousands from their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine state into neighboring Bangladesh.

On a visit to the region to rally international support to help ease the humanitarian crisis, Beasley met with Rohingya families in refugee camps in the Cox’s Bazar area of Bangladesh, and reiterated the WFP’s commitment to supporting people fleeing violence in Myanmar, IINA News reported.

“I have heard heart-breaking stories today, speaking to people who ran for their lives and saw loved ones killed before their eyes. These horrors must stop,” Beasley said.

Noting that many of these people were receiving WFP food assistance in Myanmar, he stressed that they will receive WFP food assistance in Bangladesh, until they are able to return home safely.

This is the first visit by the WFP chief to Bangladesh since his assuming office in April. He has been in the region since September 29, to see firsthand a distribution of WFP food in an area adjacent to Kutupalong refugee camp, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas have settled in makeshift shelters over the past month. He also saw a WFP e-voucher shop, where registered refugees redeem monthly electronic food vouchers.

According to UN estimates, more than 500,000 Rohingya refugees have poured into Bangladesh since August 25, fleeing a campaign of violence and persecution at the hands of Myanmar military authorities. Rights groups described the military drive against the Rohingya Muslim minority in the Buddhist-majority country as “textbook ethnic cleansing”.(R/R04/RSt)

http://iinanews.org/page/public/news_details.aspx?id=213295#.WdI_0rUxXIU

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)