Turkey to give university scholarships to 53 Rohingya

By Emin Avundukluoglu and Meltem Ozturk

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey will provide university scholarship to 53 Rohingya Muslim students, the Turkish deputy prime minister said Monday.

Hakan Cavusoglu told Anadolu Agency that the students from Myanmar's troubled western Rakhine state will study communication, law, politics and human rights at Turkish universities.

He added that 15 Rohingya students are currently studying in Turkish universities.

Cavusoglu said that Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) has sent 1,000 tons of food packages for Rohingya Muslims.

He added that Turkey will continue helping Rohingya Muslims by providing them food and health facilities.

"We will set up mobile health clinics [in the refugee camps]," he said.

He added that Turkey will provide food to 20,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and help them build homes.

More than 501,000 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh since the outbreak of fresh violence on Aug. 25, according to the UN migration agency.

The refugees are fleeing a fresh security operation in which security forces and Buddhist mobs have killed men, women and children, looted homes and torched Rohingya villages. According to Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali, around 3,000 Rohingya have been killed in the crackdown.

Turkey has been at the forefront of providing aid to Rohingya refugees, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan highlighted the issue at this year's UN General Assembly.

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.