Bangladesh: UN Chief Breaks Ramadan Fast with 100,000 Rohingya Refugees
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres joined approximately 100,000 Rohingya refugees for iftar at the Ukhia camp in Cox’s Bazar on Friday, RFA reported. This event marked Guterres’s first visit to the refugee camps in nearly seven years, highlighting the ongoing humanitarian crisis faced by the Rohingya.
During the gathering, Guterres addressed the recent reduction in monthly food aid for the Rohingya, which was cut by over half to just $6 per person. He emphasized the urgent need for increased funding, promising to engage with countries worldwide to secure necessary support. “I can promise that we’ll do everything to avoid a humanitarian crisis,” he stated.
Guterres appealed to the international community for solidarity and concrete support for the Rohingya and their Bangladeshi host communities during Ramadan. He praised the resilience of the approximately 1 million Rohingya living in the camps along the Myanmar border.
Bangladesh’s interim government leader, Muhammad Yunus, pledged to collaborate with the UN to facilitate the safe return of the Rohingya to Myanmar’s Rakhine state before next year’s Eid al-Fitr. Since August 2017, around 800,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh due to military offensives in Myanmar.
Tragically, the event was marred by a stampede that resulted in one death and two injuries, as attendees rushed to join the gathering. Police reported that the incident occurred when people fell from a hill, leading to chaos.
