Staff Reporter :
The Rohingya influx towards Bangladesh may reach 10 lakh this year if the refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state continues, the United Nations said on Thursday.
UNCHR Assistant High Commissioner (operations) George Okoth-Obbo and International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director (operations and emergency) Mohammed Abdiker Mohamud said this in a joint press conference held in a Gulshan hotel in Dhaka.
The two officials urged the international community to extend their support to meet the immediate need to Rohingya Muslim refugees.
Responding to a question whether the basic needs provided to the Rohingya refugees are enough, IOM Director Mohammed Abdiker said “not yet.”
Up to 400,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since August 25, with thousands more arriving every day, the UNICEF said.
Around 60 per cent are children, according to preliminary estimates.
UNICEF has appealed for $US 7.3 million to provide emergency support to Rohingya children over the next four months.
