UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has appealed the Bangladesh government to move hundreds of Rohingya refugees, who were rescued and sent to a flood-prone island after being stranded at sea for weeks, to existing refugee camps, AFP reported.
“While those rescued at sea may be quarantined for public health purposes, they must also be extended the protection they deserve as refugees,” Guterres said in the letter to Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen dated Friday.
About 308 refugees have been quarantined on Bhashan Char island — a silty strip of land prone to violent and potentially deadly monsoon storms. Dhaka has not said how long they will remain in isolation.
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