Dhaka asks Myanmar to de-escalate violence in Rakhine to stop Rohingya influx

Dhaka today asked Myanmar to de-escalate the ongoing violence in Rakhine state to stop the ongoing influx of Rohingyas into Bangladesh.

Bangladesh made the call when Charge'd Affairs of Myanmar Embassy in Dhaka, responding to a summons, met director general (Southeast Asia Wing) of foreign ministry in Dhaka this afternoon.

The country also requests Myanmar to address the real cause of such unprecedented exodus, said a foreign ministry statement. 

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Bangladesh also lodged a strong protest against unprecedented level of influx of Myanmar nationals to Bangladesh since 25 August 2017, it said.

As per estimate of the UN agencies, around 125,000 (one hundred twenty-five thousand) affected Myanmar nationals have taken shelter into Bangladesh and tens of thousands are in their ways. 

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"This new influx is unbearable additional burden on Bangladesh who has been hosting around four hundred thousand of Myanmar nationals who had to leave Myanmar in several rounds in the past owing to communal violence and repeated military operations," the statement read.

Bangladesh also expressed concern at the reported laying down of anti-personnel land mine close to the zero line of the border by Myanmar security forces and urged Myanmar to take immediate measures to take back all Myanmar nationals fled to the country.