Dhaka: Myanmar has agreed to take back all its citizens lodged in two refugee camps in eastern Bangladesh, Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes said on Saturday.
Currently, 28,000 Myanmar refugees, belonging to the Rohingya tribe, are staying in Nayapara and Kutupalong camps in Cox's Bazar district, about 390 km from here, since 1991.
Quayes said that apart from the registered refugees, a large number of undocumented Myanmar nationals have also entered the country without having a refugee status.
"Although they have no refugee status, we are not forcing them out of the country on humanitarian ground," Xinhua reported quoting Quayes as saying at a press conference.
He said Bangladesh and Myanmar are in discussion to launch patrol on the border to stop fresh influx of Myanmar citizens into the country.
IANS
First Published: Saturday, October 15, 2011, 18:13