Bangladesh resurrects plan to move Rohingya refugees to flooded island
DHAKA- Bangladesh has resurrected a plan to relocate thousands of Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar's northwestern Rakhine State to a flooded island in the Bay of Bengal to prevent them from "intermingling" with Bangladeshi citizens.
The United Nations says about 65,000 people have fled the Muslim-majority northern part of Rakhine to Bangladesh since attacks that killed nine Myanmar border police on Oct. 9, sparking a heavy-handed security response in which scores were killed.
Bangladesh first proposed the idea of sending the Rohingya to Thengar Char, which floods at high tide, in 2015, prompting anger among rights groups.
A notice dated Jan. 26 and posted on the website of the Bangladesh government's cabinet says several committees had been formed to look at the influx of Rohingya Muslims, which the country fears could lead to law and order issues as they mix with local residents.
