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Locals find bodies of 14 Rohingya at Ukhia

UK, US pledge more aid for refugees


Our Correspondent | Friday, 29 September 2017




CHITTAGONG, Sept 28: As many as 14 bodies of Rohingya women and children were recovered from Inani beach area under Ukhia upazila of Cox's Bazar on Thursday.
The bodies were found on the beach near Marine Drive road, according to the Ukhia police station sources.
It was assumed that all of them were Rohingya refugees, and died while fleeing Myanmar by boat. The female and children met the accident, as they could not swim ashore after their trawler capsized in the sea near Ukhia.
Local people found the bodies, and recovered them at different times in cooperation with the police.
Meanwhile, according to a report of bdnews24.com, the UK and the US have promised more aid for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, as the number of new arrivals nears half a million.
The UK said it will provide £30 million in humanitarian assistance to Bangladesh and Myanmar, with the majority of the funds meant for use in Bangladesh, said Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya on Thursday.
The funds will come in addition to another £5.9 million, which was committed as aid for the vulnerable refugees and their hosts before the latest influx from Myanmar, he also said.
The minister said these while talking to reporters after meeting State Minister Mark Field of UK Foreign Office and State Minister Alistair Burt of Department for International Aid or UKAid.
On the other hand, the US announced on Thursday that it will provide an additional $6.0 million to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) through the US Agency for International Development or USAID.
"This funding is in addition to the $1.0 million provided to WFP earlier this year. This assistance will support food distributions as well as the needed logistics to provide humanitarian assistance," said a US Embassy statement.
The country has already pledged $32 million for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh as well as for those internally displaced in Myanmar.
Meanwhile, UNB adds, Mr Mark Field on Thursday joined the Bangladesh government's call for an immediate end to violence in the Rakhine State of Myanmar.
He had a 'productive meeting' with State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on the ongoing Rohingya crisis.
The UK minister tweeted: "In Dhaka, useful meeting with Md Shahriar Alam on Rohingya crisis. Join govt of Bangladesh calling for immediate end to violence in Rakhine."

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