Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Tuesday said around 8,000 more Rohingyas have recently crossed into Bangladesh, fleeing armed conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.  

“I have information that around 8,000 Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh. We will have a serious discussion at the cabinet within the next 2-3 days (regarding this),” he told reporters at the foreign ministry, BSS reports.

While expressing sympathy for the persecuted Rohingyas, he stressed that Bangladesh no longer has the capacity to provide humanitarian shelter to additional refugees.

He noted that the border with Myanmar has been sealed, but acknowledged the difficulty of completely securing the frontier. 

The foreign adviser said that he will have a meeting with the home affairs adviser in the next two days to discuss measures.

Addressing questions on repatriation, Hossain suggested the need for a communication channel with the Arakan Army, the rebel group that currently controls most of Rakhine state, to facilitate the return of the Rohingyas.

“I think this is the way forward, but we [also] have to assess how much can be done at the state level,” he said.

bd-pratidin/GR