Bangladesh authorities said they are ready to begin repatriating some of the more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled from army-led violence in Myanmar since last year, but refugees scheduled to leave said they would refuse to go because of fears for their safety. "We are grateful to the Bangladesh government, the Bangladeshi people for their help. Some said their families have fled from their shanties in the refugee camps to avoid being sent back. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Myanmar on Tuesday that the world is very concerned about the tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who have been living for more than four years in camps in northern Rakhine state after fleeing violence from the Buddhist majority. Bangladesh's refugee commission had planned to begin a voluntary repatriation process under a United Nations-brokered deal with Myanmar by escorting about 150 refugees across the border on Thursday, despite calls by U.N. officials, Human Rights Watch and others to wait until the Rohingya's safety in Myanmar could be assured. U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said earlier this week that the agency continues to receive reports of ongoing violations of the rights of Rohingya remaining in Rakhine, including "allegations of killings, disappearances and arbitrary arrests," as well as widespread restrictions on freedom of movement, health and education. It said returning Rohingya would stay at repatriation camps for two days and receive food and clothing before moving on to transit camps. Refugees, Repatriation and Rehabilitation Commissioner Abul Kalam said earlier Wednesday that 30 refugee families would be handed over Thursday at the Ghumdhum border point near Cox's Bazar, where refugees have been living in crammed camps. But it was unclear whether the repatriation would begin smoothly amid reports that many of the refugees on the initial list have fled. My wife and other family members have gone elsewhere, they do not want to go," 35-year-old Nurul Amin told The Associated Press outside the Jamtoli camp, where he and his family have been living for more than a year. “The food rations they give us are not enough,” he said. Myanmar officials said Sunday that returnees can get an ID document called a national verification card that will allow them to travel in the Maungdaw area of Rakhine state, and that they can then begin to apply for citizenship. But Bangladesh has vowed not to force anyone to return and it has asked the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to make sure those short-listed to return really want to go back. Hundreds of Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh protested on Thursday against any attempt to send them back to Myanmar after the launch of a repatriation plan was postponed. Authorities in Myanmar arrested 106 people, believed to be Rohingya, whose boat drifted to shore Friday morning in Kyauktan township, south of Yangon, during what they said was an effort to sail to Malaysia. He told several reporters that the conflict between the Rohingya and Myanmar's government is not resolved, and "so many" Rohingya villages in northern Rakhine are flattened that there is no place to go back to. "Myanmar might claim that it is ready to receive the refugees, but the truth is that the conditions are not safe, and the Rohingya cannot make a decision about voluntary returns until human rights protections are guaranteed with international monitoring, and there is accountability for the horrible abuses by the military," she said. Associated Press writer Tofayel Ahmad in Cox's Bazar and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Immigration officials from Myanmar intercept a boat of Rohingya refugees 30 km (18.6 mi) off the coast of Yangon, and arrest all 106 passengers. The boat was en route to Malaysia, after setting off from Sittwe, Rakhine State, with human smugglers and Rohingyas fleeing persecution.