Rohingya crisis: Bangladesh will take Dhaka-based diplomats to refugee camps

Bangladesh has said it will take diplomats to the country's southeastern part, where Rohingya Muslims have taken refuge after fleeing violence in Myanmar.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali said on Monday that they have arranged a visit for diplomats to the bordering district of Cox's Bazar on Sept 13.

Ali spoke to the media in Dhaka after briefing diplomats from Asian countries on the Rohingya crisis.

Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque told reporters later that they expect New Delhi and Beijing to stand beside Dhaka amid the refugee crisis.

"China and India are friendly nations. They will support us during this crisis -- as always," Haque said.

Over the last few decades, almost half a million Rohingya Muslims have been living in two registered camps and makeshift settlements in Cox's Bazar, fleeing persecution and communal violence.

Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingya people as its citizens, neither has it responded to Bangladesh's frequent calls to take back the refugees.

Attacks on a police camp in October last year sparked an influx of almost 87,000 refugees into Bangladesh. Fresh violence broke out on Aug 25 when insurgents attacked 30 police posts and an army base.

More than 300,000 Rohingyas are said to have fled Rakhine and sought shelter over the border in Bangladesh in the weeks since the fresh violence.

As many as 400 people have been reported dead in fighting that has rocked the country's northwest, according to Myanmar officials.

Bangladesh has proposed creating “safe zones” run by aid groups for the Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine to stop hundreds of thousands of refugees crossing into its territory.

Dhaka had earlier pitched a joint operation with Myanmar forces on the border to wipe out militant and extremist forces, but Naypyidaw has not responded.

In Buddhist-majority Myanmar, many consider the 1.1 million Rohingyas as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.