‘Myanmar not ready for Rohingya return’

CHAKMARKUL REFUGEE CAMP, Bangladesh: Conditions in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state are not ready yet for the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who have fled a military crackdown, the head of the International Committee of Red Cross said on Sunday after visit to the region. Myanmar has said it is ready to take back the more than 700,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled Bangladesh since last August, and has set up two reception centres and what it says is a temporary camp near the border in Rakhine to receive the first arrivals. But Red Cross President Peter Maurer said he did not believe returns should start any time soon based on what he saw during his visit. “I think there is still a lot of work to do till large scale repatriation is a realistic possibility,” Maurer said.