A riverside village in Rakhine state, Myanmar, in July 2017. © UNHCR/Roger Arnold
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
UNHCR is aware of reports of escalating violence and a deteriorating security situation in southern Chin State and Rakhine State. This has reportedly led to internal displacement and a number of new arrivals from Myanmar seeking safety in the Bandarban border region of Bangladesh.
UNHCR is deeply concerned about the humanitarian impact of continuing violence in Myanmar and the potential for both further internal displacement and the outflow of refugees.
As part of inter-agency efforts, UNHCR stands ready to support the humanitarian response in the affected areas in Myanmar. UNHCR has also offered its support to the Government of Bangladesh to assess and respond to the needs of people who have arrived seeking safety from violence in Myanmar.
UNHCR is grateful to the Government of Bangladesh for its generosity and the leadership it has shown in receiving more than 720,000 refugees from Myanmar since August 2017. We call on the Bangladesh authorities to continue to allow people fleeing violence in Myanmar to seek safety in Bangladesh.
For more information on this topic, please contact:
- In Cox’s Bazar, Firas Al-Khateeb, khateeb@unhcr.org, +880 18 8593 4309
- In Dhaka, Joseph Tripura, tripura@unhcr.org, +88 17 1309 0375
- In Bangkok, Caroline Gluck, gluck@unhcr.org, +66 81 827 0280
- In Geneva, Andrej Mahecic, mahecic@unhcr.org, +41 79 642 97 09
Originally published by UNHCR on 8, February 2019
