Myanmar, UN ink deal to repatriate Rohingya

Myanmar and the United Nations agencies have inked an agreement which could facilitate repatriation of about 700,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the U.N. agencies stated that the agreement was "aimed at creating conducive conditions for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation of refugees from Bangladesh."

More than 700,000 Rohingya refugees are languishing in "crowded" and "flood-prone" Bangladeshi refugee camps.

Myanmar, also said it would permit the U.N. agencies access to parts of northern Rakhine state for the first time since August, the report said.

Bangladesh and Myanmar have earlier finalised an agreement, which will facilitate the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh.

The agreement title 'Physical Agreement' says that the repatriation would be completed within two years.

Rohingyas are a Muslim minority ethnic group in Myanmar and are considered as illegal immigrants.

They fled a brutal Myanmar military campaign launched in August last year.

The United Nations had said the scorched-earth operation, which had left hundreds of villages burned to ash in Myanmar's restive Rakhine state, amounted to 'ethnic cleansing'.