Rohingya Refugees Return to Myanmar, as Military Campaign Ends
Nearly 1,000 Rohingya refugees who fled a four-month-long state military campaign targeting the Muslim ethnic minority community in Rakhine state, Myanmar, are returning to their homes.
Tens of thousands of Rohingya fled to Bangladesh to escape brutal killings, rapes and events that the U.N. has labeled as ethnic cleansing campaigns over the past months.
These returns may only be temporary, as “most of those men are hoping to bring their relatives back to Bangladesh,” Dudu Mia, a local refugee-camp leader in the coastal town of Teknaf, told Agence France-Presse.
Myanmar government officials announced last week that the army had ended its crackdown in northern Rakhine that started after nine border police were killed last October, purportedly by a Rohingya extremist group. Nearly 70,000 Rohingya fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh during the four-month period.
“We are worried that [the Rohingya] will face the same kind of treatment by the government [when they return home],” Ko Ko Linn, an activist for the Arakan Rohingya National Organization based in Chittagong, Bangladesh, told the Associated Press.
The Myanmar government claims that it has launched an investigation, following a recent U.N. report that claimed that the military committed crimes against humanity, including rape and mass killings.
Hundreds of Asylum Seekers Storm the Morocco-Spain Barrier
More than 350 migrants forced their way through the border fence between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Monday, according to Reuters.
This incident follows a similar breach a few days ago, when nearly 500 migrants stormed the same location.
Eleven of the entrants and two police officers were injured during the incident, according to Ceuta authorities.
Over 1,400 arrivals are seeking to apply for asylum at an immigration center in Ceuta. But most will likely not meet the criteria and will be deported to Morocco or their country of origin.
Every year, hundreds of migrants, mostly from Africa, try to enter Spain through its two North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. Officials warn that these numbers are increasing.
Asylum Seekers Fleeing the U.S. to Canada on the Rise
Amid President Donald Trump’s ban on refugees and migrants and threats of further crackdowns, another 30 asylum seekers crossed into Canada from the U.S. over the weekend.
Eight asylum seekers, including four children, fled across the border to Canada, from Champlain, New York, Reuters reported. The group fled when they were intercepted by U.S. border police.
The Canadian border police in Manitoba arrested another 22 asylum seekers, according to CNN.
The Canada Border Services Agency has assured that all asylum claims will be processed in accordance with the national laws.
Over 450 people reached Quebec to apply for asylum over January, amid freezing temperatures.
Recommended Reads
- The Daily Beast: A Gay Syrian Refugee’s Message to Donald Trump: I Am a Human Being
- Open Democracy: Interview: Making the Global Compacts on Migrants and Refugees Worthwhile
- Wired: Refugees’ Stories Told Through Their Smartphones
- MSF: Tanzania: Testimonies from Refugees in Nduta and Nyarugusu Camps
- The Guardian: The Migrant Slave Trade Is Booming in Libya. Why Is the World Ignoring It?