159 Bangladeshis to be repatriated ‘later’

A total of 159 Bangladeshi human trafficking victims, who were rescued by Myanmar’s Navy, cannot be brought back to Bangladesh today.

They will be brought back ‘later’, our Cox’s Bazar correspondent reports quoting officials of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

In the fourth phase of the repatriation process, the victims were scheduled to be brought back this morning after a flag meeting at Myanmar’s border area around 10:30am.

But the meeting was postponed for the second time due to unavoidable reason, Lieutenant Colonel Md Robiul Islam, commander of 17 BGB Battalion of Cox’s Bazar, said.

Earlier on July 30, the flag meeting was postponed for the first time due to bad weather triggered by cyclone Komen and flood.

BGB officials said they will inform the next date of the meeting “later”.

The meeting was scheduled to be held at Dhekubonia Border Guard Police camp, near the zero-point of Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

Asif Muneer, national programme officer of International Organization for Migration (IOM), validated that the 159 victims include 16 children.

Myanmar’s Navy has rescued a total of 935 trafficking victims in their maritime boundary in two drives on May 21 and 29.

Till now, 342 identified Bangladeshi victims have been repatriated from Myanmar.