150,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar for Bangladesh: UN

Bangladesh has over the past 18 months registered the biggest influx of Rohingya refugees since the mass exodus of Myanmar's largely Muslim minority nearly a decade ago, the United Nations said Friday.

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The UN refugee agency said up to 150,000 Rohingya had arrived in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar refugee camps since early 2024.

"Targeted violence and persecution in Rakhine State and the ongoing conflict in Myanmar have continued to force thousands of Rohingya to seek protection in Bangladesh," UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch told reporters in Geneva.

"This movement of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh, spread over months, is the largest from Myanmar since 2017, when some 750,000 fled the deadly violence in their native Rakhine State," he said.

Baloch hailed Bangladesh for generously hosting Rohingya refugees for generations.