Today, Dhaka firmly reiterated that it cannot accommodate any additional Rohingya refugees, urging nations and organizations advocating for further intake to take responsibility themselves.
“We have clearly informed the UNHCR that we cannot accept more Rohingyas,” Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain stated during a press briefing at the foreign ministry.
Hossain emphasized that Bangladesh has already extended significant humanitarian support, currently hosting 1.2 million Rohingyas. He noted that the UN Refugee Agency had requested Bangladesh to shelter new arrivals, but the government firmly declined.
“Those offering advice or encouraging further intake should take the Rohingyas themselves,” Hossain remarked.
He added that the government is actively working to prevent additional entries, although fully sealing the border with Myanmar poses ongoing challenges. On September 3, Hossain mentioned that around 8,000 Rohingya had recently crossed into Bangladesh, fleeing escalating violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
Since August 25, 2017, Bangladesh has sheltered over one million forcibly displaced Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar, most arriving after Myanmar’s military crackdown, which the UN described as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing,” while other rights groups labeled it “genocide.”
Despite Myanmar’s agreement to repatriate the refugees, no Rohingya has returned in the past seven years due to concerns over their safety in Rakhine state, with two repatriation efforts failing.
