Rohingya refugees stage protest against repatriation

Rohingya refugees staged a protest on Thursday against a scheduled repatriation process to Myanmar.

The refugees in Cox's Bazar city said they will not return to Myanmar until they get justice for mass killings and assurance of safety in their native Rakhine state, local media reported.

They said forced repatriation is against human rights.

The protest began shortly after officials of Bangladesh Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission (RRRC) reached the refugee camp in Teknaf to formally begin repatriation, reported daily Prothom Alo.

Troops have been deployed at the camps to prevent an outbreak of violence.

The repatriation of more than 2,200 Rohingya refugees to Myanmar will begin on Nov. 15, amid claims by the Bangladesh government that it is voluntary.

However, rights groups, the UN and the U.S. have said the lives of the refugees in their home country are in danger.

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

Since Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).

More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires, while over 114,000 others were beaten, said the OIDA report, titled "Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience."

Some 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s army and police and over 115,000 Rohingya homes were burned down and 113,000 others vandalized, it added.

According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly children, and women, fled Myanmar and crossed into neighboring Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017.

The UN has documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by Myanmar state forces. In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.