Turkish deputy PM visits Rohingya camp in Bangladesh

By Kemal Karadag and Ali Kemal Akan

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AA) - Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdag distributed aid among Rohingya Muslims during his visit to a refugee camp in Bangladesh on Wednesday.

Akdag visited the camp along with his wife Seyma Akdag, Turkish Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) head Mehmet Gulluoglu, and Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya after landing in capital Dhaka.

The Turkish deputy premier handed out aid packages among Rohingya Muslims and said Turkey would build a refugee camp in Bangladesh with the capacity to host 100,000 people.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has instructed the material needed for the construction of the camp should be provided by artisans in Bangladesh, Akdag added.

He also said the construction of the camp would begin immediately after Bangladeshi officials finalize the venue.

Since Aug. 25, more than 436,000 Rohingya have crossed from Myanmar's western state of Rakhine into Bangladesh, according to the UN's migration agency’s latest report on Monday.

The refugees are fleeing a military operation in which Myanmar’s armed 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; 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.