Ukhia — Heavy monsoon rain heaped new misery on Sunday on hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya stuck in makeshift camps in Bangladesh after fleeing violence in Myanmar, as authorities started a drive to force them to a new site. With food and water shortages already making life tough, torrential rain brought back swamp-like conditions to many parts of the border town of Cox’s Bazar, which has become a magnet for the Rohingya. About 7.7cm of rain fell in 24 hours and more is predicted in the next two days, the Bangladesh weather department said. Bangladesh authorities, who have issued travel restrictions on the Rohingya, launched an operation late on Saturday to get tens of thousands out of roadside camps and hillside shanties into a new camp. The UN said 409,000 Rohingyas have overwhelmed Cox’s Bazar since August 25, when the military in Buddhist-majority Myanmar launched operations in Rakhine state. As existing camps are already full with 300,000 Rohingya fleeing earlier violen...
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