UN launches $1.0b appeal

GENEVA, Mar 16 (AFP): The United Nations launched on Friday an appeal for nearly $1 billion to care for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, while underscoring that efforts must remain focused on securing the safe return to Myanmar of those displaced.

UN agencies asked for $951 million (774 million euros) through the rest of the year to provide basic needs for the nearly one million Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh, including the almost 700,000 who have crossed the border since August.

The head of the UN refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, told reporters that the immediate concern was mobilising life-saving aid for refugees, especially with monsoon season approaching and tens of thousands of people living in areas prone to landslides and floods.

Grandi again acknowledged that it "may take a very long time" before any Rohingya can return to their home in Myanmar's Rakhine state, in the absence of any evidence that they will be safe if they go back.