US announces more than $59M in aid for Rohingya

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S. announced more than $59 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh on Thursday.

The aid will also cover internally displaced Rohingya and members of other affected communities in Myanmar, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

"This funding will help address the emergency needs of more than 900,000 refugees in Bangladesh, many of whom are Rohingya women and children from Rakhine State, Burma, as well as the needs of Bangladeshi host communities.

"This funding will also provide life-saving assistance to internally displaced persons, including Rohingya, and members of other affected communities in Burma, including those affected by the fighting between the Burmese military and the Arakan Army," said Ortagus.

Since Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017 which forced hundreds of thousands to flee and cross into Bangladesh, the U.S. has provided nearly $820 million with this new funding.

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.

More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires, while over 114,000 others were beaten, the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA) said in a report titled "Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience."

Some 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s army and police and over 115,000 Rohingya homes were burned down while 113,000 others vandalized, it added.