Myanmar delays UN refugee chief’s visit
AFP, United Nations :
Myanmar has postponed a planned visit by the UN refugee chief to Rakhine state following renewed fighting between security forces and insurgents, a spokesman said on Monday (Jan 14).
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi was due to visit last week but Myanmar authorities scrapped the trip to Rakhine, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims were driven out in a military crackdown that started in 2017. The troubled western state has seen fighting flare again in recent weeks, this time between security forces and the
Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine armed group calling for more autonomy for the state’s Rakhine Buddhist population. Thirteen police officers were killed by AA militants in Jan 4 attacks on police posts near the Bangladeshi border. “Based on assessment of Myanmar authorities of the security situation in Rakhine, the visit has been postponed,” said UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic.
Myanmar has postponed a planned visit by the UN refugee chief to Rakhine state following renewed fighting between security forces and insurgents, a spokesman said on Monday (Jan 14).
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi was due to visit last week but Myanmar authorities scrapped the trip to Rakhine, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims were driven out in a military crackdown that started in 2017. The troubled western state has seen fighting flare again in recent weeks, this time between security forces and the
Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine armed group calling for more autonomy for the state’s Rakhine Buddhist population. Thirteen police officers were killed by AA militants in Jan 4 attacks on police posts near the Bangladeshi border. “Based on assessment of Myanmar authorities of the security situation in Rakhine, the visit has been postponed,” said UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic.
