Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 05-10-2017
The United Nations has warned that the human tragedy unfolding in southern Bangladesh is staggering.
Officials from the UN were wrapping up a mission to Cox’s Bazar yesterday with calls for a “significant increase in assistance” for the thousands of Rohingya Muslims that have settled in the area after fleeing violence in neighbouring Myanmar.
In the last few weeks, well over half a million Rohingya Muslims have crossed the Myanmar border in to Bangladesh, making this the world’s fastest developing refugee emergency.
Mark Lowcock, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and Anthony Lake, Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) say the situation is dire.
“People arrive fearful, exhausted and hungry, and in desperate need of immediate help including shelter, food, clean water and sanitation, and healthcare. They bring with them terrible accounts of what they have seen and suffered – stories of children being killed, women brutalized, and villages burned to the ground.”
The UN is seeking $434 million to scale up the relief operation supporting the refugees and host communities.
In support of this, an additional $12 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has been allocated to help establish additional sites for newly arrived refugees.
While the two senior UN officials welcomed assurances of close cooperation with the Government, they underscored that the “appalling situation” is not over as people continue to flee for their lives, crossing from Myanmar into Bangladesh – and requiring immediate support.
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