About 655,000 Rohingya Refugees Fled to Bangladesh Since Late August - IOM
18:55 22.12.2017
GENEVA (Sputnik) - Around 655,000 Rohingya refugees have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh since the start of the crisis in late August, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Friday.
"On Christmas day it will be four months since the start of the influx of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh. Latest figures show 655,000 people have arrived in that period, bringing the estimated total number of Rohingya in Cox's Bazaar to 867,500," the agency said in a statement.
The IOM and its partners are increasing their distribution of aid among the refugees as the weather gets colder, the agency added. According to the statement, the distributions include blankets and emergency shelter materials, such as bamboo bundles and tarpaulins, as well as other non-food relief items.
The IOM is also supporting the refugees and the local population affected by the influx of Rohingya Muslims with water, hygiene, and sanitation, and supporting a vaccination campaign for children under six to respond to the ongoing diphtheria outbreak, the agency noted.
In late August, Myanmar's government deployed police and military units to respond to Rohingya insurgents' attacks on security posts in the country's Rakhine state. The clashes pushed hundreds of thousands Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh and were condemned by the international community.
© Sputnik
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