IAF delivers relief material to Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh

A C-17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Thursday delivered around 55 tonnes of relief material for Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh, officials said.

IAF officials said one more C-17, a large strategic heavy-lift cargo aircraft, was scheduled to airlift additional relief material to Bangladesh on Friday. The C-17 Globemaster was positioned at short notice at Delhi on Wednesday and loaded overnight with daily necessities like rice, pulses, sugar, salt, cooking oil, ready-to-eat meals, mosquito nets, and other material to ferry to Chittagong.

The aircraft departed early Thursday morning from Delhi and delivered the consignment at Chittagong around 12.45 pm to help Bangladesh deal with an influx of lakhs of Rohingyas who have taken refuge there. The relief material will be delivered in multiple consignments under the Indian government's 'Operation Insaniyat'.

The latest deaths raised to 97 the toll of Rohingya refugees who have died while crossing over to Bangladesh, fleeing ongoing violence in the conflict-torn Rakhine state in Myanmar. At least 3,70,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh in the past three weeks to escape an ongoing violent military offensive in the Rakhine state in northwest Myanmar after the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) rebels attacked multiple government posts in the state on August 25.

Meanwhile, the ARSA announced a month-long ceasefire last Saturday to allow the entry of humanitarian aid, which the Myanmar government rejected. The latest conflict is similar to the situation last October when an insurgent attack on border posts had led to an aggressive military offensive in the region resulting in the exodus of more than 80,000 Rohingyas.

Also read: Sikh volunteers reach Bangladesh-Myanmar border to help Rohingya refugees

Before the current crisis erupted, between 3,00,000 and 5,00,000 Rohingyas were living in Bangladesh, out of whom only 32,000 enjoy refugee status and live concentrated in refugee camps in Cox's Bazar district.

With inputs from IANS.

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