Another influx looms over Bangladesh

Diplomatic Correspondent :

Instead of returning home, new waves of Rohingya continue to flee into Bangladesh, driven by escalating clashes between the Arakan Army and Myanmar government forces.

Most recently, some 50,000 people were reported to have gathered near the Bangladesh border, raising fears of another large-scale influx.

Eight years after the mass exodus from Myanmar’s Rakhine State, the Rohingya crisis, in fact, shows little sign of resolution, with more than one million refugees still sheltering in camps in Bangladesh.

Despite repeated appeals, international focus remains centred on humanitarian assistance rather than repatriation – regarded as the only sustainable solution.

The warning came during a meeting of the National Task Force on the Rohingya issue at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka on Sunday, chaired by Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam.

Officials noted that Bangladesh is already hosting more than 1.4 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar and Bhashan Char. Over the past 18 months, a further 120,000 have crossed into the country.

UN representatives at the meeting cautioned that aid shortfalls are worsening camp conditions. Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammad Mizanur Rahman said the World Food Programme has no confirmed funding for food supplies beyond November.

Distribution of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) may also halt after September, potentially forcing refugees to cut trees again for firewood.

Officials acknowledged that donor countries often fail to deliver nearly half of their pledged contributions. Siam said Bangladesh was working to keep the issue on the global agenda, including through a series of upcoming international conferences.

As part of this effort, Bangladesh will host a three-day “Partner Dialogue” in Cox’s Bazar from 25 August, ahead of a UN-backed high-level meeting on the Rohingya situation in New York on 30 September, to be held alongside the UN General Assembly.

The Cox’s Bazar conference, to mark the eighth anniversary of the influx, will take place at Hotel Baywatch in Inani, Ukhia upazila. Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus is expected to attend as chief guest.

The dialogue will bring together foreign ministers, international envoys, UN officials, Bangladeshi diplomats and development partners. Plenary discussions, cultural events and an exhibition on refugee life are planned, alongside five working sessions on humanitarian aid and repatriation initiatives. Delegates will also visit Rohingya camps on 26 August.

National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman, Bangladesh’s High Representative on Rohingya Affairs, said the Cox’s Bazar dialogue forms part of preparations for the September 30 UN-led conference.

He noted that Yunus had first proposed such a gathering during last year’s UNGA, an initiative later endorsed by 106 countries. Another international conference on the crisis is scheduled to take place in Doha on 6 December.

The developments come as Myanmar’s military junta has announced general elections for 28 December – the first since seizing power in a bloody coup in 2021 and detaining democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

International leaders have long pressed for democratic transition in Myanmar, viewing political reform as essential to resolving the country’s internal conflicts and paving the way for Rohingya repatriation.

Bangladesh, officials said, continues to stress that a durable solution must be found as the humanitarian situation of the Rohingyas deteriorates further.