Geneva (AA) - United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Spokesman Adrian Edwards announced on Friday that 140 thousand people have been displaced in the ethnic violence in the Muslim Arakan region of Myanmar.
Making a brief speech to the press, UNHCR Spokesman Edwards reminded that they conveyed to the Myanmar government that they can provide technical assistance for registering displaced people to enable the delivery of aid.
Edwards noted that lack of legal status for 13 thousand Arakan Muslims near Arakan region's capital Sitwe and 2 thousand 800 in Maungdaw town hampers the efforts towards providing them with humanitarian aid.
Working in cooperation with other humanitarian aid organizations, Edwards stated that they make efforts to provide enough water, sanitation and medical care. "We had great difficulty in some regions. Aid volunteers were harrassed or threatened. The displaced people were unable to receive the basic services as they were immobilized. Most of their children could not attend school for almost one year," he said.
"The Myanmar government must take further active steps towards preventing the people in Arakan from fleeing the region. Last year, nearly 27 thousand people, mostly of Arakan origin, left the country from the Gulf of Bengal risking their lives as several died trying to flee," told Edwards.
As Edwards stated, UNHCR asked the neighboring countries to open doors for the people taking refuge and seeking international shelter.
Edwards also stressed that they need 80 million USD for the part of the aid delivery planned to be completed until the end of the year.
The ethnic violence and cleansing in Myanmar against Rohingya Muslims have been going on for the past one year.
