ROHINGYA -720,000- RELOCATION?

Rohingya's relocation plans pushed back to 2019.

COX'S BAZAR : Bangladesh plans to tackle the Rohingya refugee crisis have been stalled until the new year with repatriation and relocation programmes only likely to be revisited following year-end general elections, a top Bangladesh official said on Sunday.

Abul Kalam, Bangladesh's refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, told Reuters a ''new course of action'' needed to be adopted  on repatriation that took into account refugees key demands.

More than 720,000 Rohingya fled a sweeping army crackdown on Myanmar's Rakhine state in 2017, according to UN agencies. The crackdown was launched in response to insurgent Rohingya attacks on security forces.

Rohingya refugees say soldiers and Buddhists civilians killed families, burned many villages and carried out gang rapes.

UN mandated investigators have carried accused Myanmar's army of  ''genocidal intent''  and ethnic cleansing. Myanmar has denied almost all the accusations, saying its forces engaged in counter-insurgency operations against  ''terrorists''.

In late October, Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed to begin to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims refugees who fled, but the plan has been opposed by the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, the UN refugee agency and aid groups, who fear for the safety of Rohingya in Myanmar.

The repatriation of the first batch of  2,200  refugees was to begin officially on Nov 15, but it stalled amid protests at the refugee camps. None of those on the list agreed to return if their demands for justice, citizenship and the ability to go back to their original villages and lands were not met.[Reuters].