Rohingya refugee crisis in key dates
UN investigators yesterday called for the prosecution of Myanmar's army chief for genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority after a ferocious army crackdown drove more than 700,000 of them into Bangladesh. Here are key dates since the exodus began a year ago:
ROHINGYA MILITANTS ATTACK
On August 25, 2017 hundreds of Rohingya militants stage coordinated attacks on 30 police posts in Myanmar's Rakhine state, killing 13 police. The Myanmar army hits back with operations in Rohingya villages, saying it is trying to flush out insurgents. Witnesses tell of Rohingya civilians being massacred in retaliation, with mortars and machine guns fired at villagers fleeing to the Bangladesh border.
REFUGEE STORM
By September 5 more than 120,000 Rohingya have flooded into Bangladesh, overwhelming its handful of ill-equipped refugee camps. Many arrive desperate for food and water after walking for more than a week over hills and through dense jungle. Many say they have been victims of abuses by the army and Buddhists.
SUU KYI BREAKS SILENCE
In her first public statement on the crisis, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi says on September 19 she is open to resettling some of the Rohingya who have fled, pending a "verification process". She fails to appease critics around the world.
REPATRIATION ACCORD
Bangladesh and Myanmar on November 23 ink a deal to start repatriating refugees in Bangladesh in two months, without using the word "Rohingya". A day later the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says conditions have not been met for their safe and lasting return. The accord remains a dead letter.
ROHINGYAS MARK ANNIV
Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees stage protests on August 25, the first anniversary of the exodus, for "justice".
UN CITES 'GENOCIDE'
UN investigators on August 27 call for an international investigation and prosecution of Myanmar's army chief and five other top military commanders for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Rohingya.
Comments