At least 27 Rohingya refugees have gone missing after a ship sank while trying to flee a camp on an island in Bangladesh, authorities announced Saturday, which has been heavily criticized by human rights NGOs.
According to the police, a small fishing boat Drowning with 41 Rohingya on boardAfter facing the raging sea in the Bay of Bengal near the island. About 14 people have been rescued and the search for the missing is still going on.
About 20,000 Rohingya have been displaced to Bashan Char island, which has been hit hard by cyclones that hit the Bay of Bengal every year. Bangladesh hopes to settle about 100,000 of the 1 million Rohingya refugees on its soil, most of them in already overcrowded camps.
Some complain of being forcibly transferred to the island. Thousands of them demonstrated against the living conditions.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees expressed concern over “reports that refugees have been detained and imprisoned for attempting to leave Bashan Shar”.
Bangladesh began moving refugees to the controversial camp in November. Police said hundreds of Rohingya fled the island this month and were detained in other coastal towns.
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