Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh army will deliver foreign aid to the border town Cox’s Bazar that has been overwhelmed with Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar.
The Bangladesh authorities came up with the move following criticism of the chaotic conditions in relief supplies at the camps in and around Cox’s Bazar, where about 389,000 Rohingyas from Myanmar’s Rakhine state have arrived since August 25.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told parliament late on Thursday that the army would handle relief aid that several nations have sent in recent days.
“I have given the army responsibility to make sure the relief materials properly reach them (Rohingya) and to oversee in the relief operation,” she said.
Initially, the army will be responsible for taking the aid to Cox’s Bazar.
“We’ve got the directive that the army would receive relief materials sent by foreign nations at the airport and take those to Cox’s Bazar,” Lieutenant Colonel Rashidul Hasan told the media on Friday.
But it was not clear whether they would distribute the aid to the Rohingya camps.
Relief workers are struggling to cope with the huge numbers, with 10,000-20,000 people crossing the border each day.
The United Nations has warned of a looming “worst case scenario” with all of the Muslim minority group trying to leave Buddhist-dominated Myanmar’s Rakhine state where a military crackdown was launched on August 25.
Aid agencies have said thousands of Rohingyas were half-starving and a major health emergency could break out unless order is restored in aid management.
The UN’s International Organisation for Migration has said it will form a group of all UN agencies and private groups to coordinate aid work.
Bangladesh army will deliver foreign aid to the border town Cox’s Bazar that has been overwhelmed with Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar.
The Bangladesh authorities came up with the move following criticism of the chaotic conditions in relief supplies at the camps in and around Cox’s Bazar, where about 389,000 Rohingyas from Myanmar’s Rakhine state have arrived since August 25.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told parliament late on Thursday that the army would handle relief aid that several nations have sent in recent days.
“I have given the army responsibility to make sure the relief materials properly reach them (Rohingya) and to oversee in the relief operation,” she said.
Initially, the army will be responsible for taking the aid to Cox’s Bazar.
“We’ve got the directive that the army would receive relief materials sent by foreign nations at the airport and take those to Cox’s Bazar,” Lieutenant Colonel Rashidul Hasan told the media on Friday.
But it was not clear whether they would distribute the aid to the Rohingya camps.
Relief workers are struggling to cope with the huge numbers, with 10,000-20,000 people crossing the border each day.
The United Nations has warned of a looming “worst case scenario” with all of the Muslim minority group trying to leave Buddhist-dominated Myanmar’s Rakhine state where a military crackdown was launched on August 25.
Aid agencies have said thousands of Rohingyas were half-starving and a major health emergency could break out unless order is restored in aid management.
The UN’s International Organisation for Migration has said it will form a group of all UN agencies and private groups to coordinate aid work.
