87,000 Myanmar nationals entered country since last Oct 9: IOM
Some 87,000 undocumented Myanmar nationals (UMNs) have so far entered Bangladesh following an outbreak of violence on October 9 last year in the Rakhine State of Myanmar.
Though the influx slowed down in late February 2017, fresh arrivals from Myanmar were reported in July this year, according to an assessment made by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
"Some 87,000 new arrivals since October 2016, with an increase in both makeshift settlements and host communities, due to newly arrived UMNs across the border from Myanmar in the month of July," according to the report.
The majority of UMNs are living in Ukhia and Teknaf of Cox's Bazar, a district bordering Myanmar identified as the main entry point for border crossing.
Some 57 sites were assessed. Some 1,64,000 UMNs were identified in the two upazilas of Cox's Bazar.
According to Needs and Population Monitoring (NPM) Round 2 (April 2017), assessment of an additional four sites with a population of 635 were not conducted due to limited access.
Among those assessed, 52 percent were women and girls, said the report.
The National Strategy on Myanmar Refugees and UMNs formulated by the government of Bangladesh highlighted that about 3,00,000 to 5,00,000 Rohingyas have crossed the border in the past and are living in Bangladesh.
Following an outbreak of violence on October 9, 2016 in Rakhine, an estimated 74,000 UMNs have fled to Bangladesh from Rakhine until the influx become stable around February 23, 2017.
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