Bangladesh needs “massive international assistance” to feed and shelter the 436,000 Rohingya who have fled Myanmar in recent weeks, the head of the UN refugee agency said Sunday.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said there were “immense” challenges after visiting the overflowing camps around Cox’s Bazar in southern Bangladesh. “I was struck by the incredible magnitude of their needs. They need everything — they need food, they need clean water, they need shelter, they need proper health care,” he told reporters.

Grandi said there had been an “incredible outpouring of local generosity” but that now needed to be “beefed up by massive international assistance, financial and material”. “That’s partly why I am here, to help… the government organize that response,” he said.

He also said his office was providing “technical assistance” to help Bangladesh register the Rohingya, whom Myanmar considers to be “illegal immigrants”.

Source: AFP