Myanmar, Bangladesh to begin returning Rohingya refugees in November

Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed Tuesday to start returning Rohingya refugees in November. The deal comes less than a week after UN investigators warned that a genocide against the Muslim minority was still ongoing, AFP reported. More than 720,000 of Myanmar’s stateless Rohingya fled a brutal military crackdown in August last year, taking shelter in crowded camps in Bangladesh. Investigators have said senior Myanmar military officials should be prosecuted for genocide in Rakhine state. The country has rejected these calls, insisting it was defending itself against militants. Myanmar and Bangladesh announced a large-scale repatriation plan in November 2017, but the process hit bureaucratic hurdles and it failed to take off. Both sides blamed the other for the delay and rights group warned returning the Rohingya to Myanmar would condemn them to further reprisals.