Heads of 40 Dhaka-based foreign embassies, missions and agencies on Wednesday have urged Myanmar to stop persecution and bring back peace in Rakhine State.
A delegation of 40 foreign diplomats has visited the Kutupalong Registered Camp at Ukhiya in Cox's Bazar for displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar.
The ambassadors, high commissioners, chargés d'affaires and head of missions of 40 Dhaka-based embassies, foreign missions and agencies had left the capital in the morning and arrived at the camp around 12:30pm on Wednesday.
The government arranged the high-profile visit during which they were scheduled to go to different temporary and permanent shelters of the Rohingyas.
The diplomats lauded Bangladesh's efforts in giving shelter to this many people at once and providing them with necessary aids.
They also expressed concern over the refugees' condition and said they would urge the Myanmar government to stop the persecution of the Rohingyas and bring back peace.
Foreign Minister A H Mahmood Ali, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque, representatives of different humanitarian organisations, both local and international, and other government officials were with the diplomats on Wednesday.
The delegation visited different blocks of the Kutupalong refugee camp. They also spoke to many refugees, learned about their ordeal and the torture they endured at the hands of the Myanmar army.
Earlier, the 40 diplomats had arrived in Cox's Bazar by plane around 11:00am. Then they took the road to go to Kutupalong camp.
They were scheduled to leave for Dhaka later in the afternoon, where they would brief the media on their visit.
Police in Cox's Bazar have recovered the bodies of seven more Rohingyas from the Naf River, raising the total number of refugees drowned during the crossing to over 100.
Mainuddin Khan, Officer-in-Charge of Teknaf Police Station, told the Daily Observer that the bodies were recovered from various river points on Wednesday morning,
Three of the victims are women, while the rest are children, he said. Police recovered the bodies between 8:00am and 11:00am near the Shah Porir Dwip area. "We believe their boat capsized as it was making the crossing into Bangladesh," Mainuddin said.
