COX’S BAZAAR, Bangladesh: Thousands of Rohingya refugees staged protests for "justice" Saturday on the first anniversary of a Myanmar military crackdown that forced them to flee to camps in Bangladesh.
About 700,000 of the Muslim minority poured across the border after attacks by the Myanmar military and Buddhist groups that the United Nations has likened to ethnic cleansing.
Thousands held peaceful marches and attended rallies chanting "We want justice from the UN." At the Kutupalong camp, a giant banner proclaimed: "Never Again: Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day. 25 August, 2018."
Some wore bandanas emblazoned with the slogan "Save Rohingya" while others waved flags.
Other marches and gatherings were planned across what has become the world's biggest refugee camp, activists told AFP.
Rohingya militants staged attacks on Myanmar police posts on August 25 last year sparking the crackdown in which an unknown number of Rohingya were killed. Many have arrived in the Bangladesh camps with stories of rape, torture and villages burned to the ground.
Myanmar authorities have insisted their forces only targeted radicals. They have made an agreement with Bangladesh to take back refugees but no progress has been made on returns and the Rohingya insist they will not go back unless their safety is guaranteed.
Mohammad Hossain, a 40-year-old protester at Kutupalong, said "We are here remember to August 25. We want justice.
"We want them to recognise us as Rohingya. We are very sad because we are not in our native land. Everyone wants justice. We are complaining about this to the world."
Another protester, Noor Kamal, added: "We faced genocide. Last year, August 25, we faced genocide in Myanmar. We want justice for that."
Rohingyas stage protest for ‘justice’ on crackdown anniversary
Rohingyas stage protest for ‘justice’ on crackdown anniversary
- About 700,000 of the Muslim minority poured across the border after attacks by the Myanmar military and Buddhist groups
- Rohingya militants staged attacks on Myanmar police posts on August 25 last year sparking the crackdown
WHO appeals for $1 bn for world’s worst health crises in 2026
- The UN health agency estimated 239 million people would need urgent humanitarian assistance this year and the money would keep essential health services going
GENEVA: The World Health Organization on Tuesday appealed for $1 billion to tackle health crises this year across the world’s 36 most severe emergencies, including in Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The UN health agency estimated 239 million people would need urgent humanitarian assistance this year and the money would keep essential health services going.
WHO health emergencies chief Chikwe Ihekweazu told reporters in Geneva: “A quarter of a billion people are living through humanitarian crises that strip away the most basic protections: safety, shelter and access to health care.
“In these settings, health needs are surging, whether due to injuries, disease outbreaks, malnutrition or untreated chronic diseases,” he warned.
“Yet access to care is shrinking.”
The agency’s emergency request was significantly lower than in recent years, given the global funding crunch for aid operations.
Washington, traditionally the UN health agency’s biggest donor, has slashed foreign aid spending under President Donald Trump, who on his first day back in office in January 2025 handed the WHO his country’s one-year withdrawal notice.
Last year, WHO had appealed for $1.5 billion but Ihekweazu said that only $900 million was ultimately made available.
Unfortunately, he said, the agency had been “recognizing ... that the appetite for resource mobilization is much smaller than it was in previous years.”
“That’s one of the reasons that we’ve calibrated our ask a little bit more toward what is available realistically, understanding the situation around the world, the constraints that many countries have,” he said.
The WHO said in 2026 it was “hyper-prioritising the highest-impact services and scaling back lower?impact activities to maximize lives saved.”
Last year, global funding cuts forced 6,700 health facilities across 22 humanitarian settings to either close or reduce services, “cutting 53 million people off from health care.” Ihekweazu said.
“Families living on the edge face impossible decisions, such as whether to buy food or medicine,” he added, stressing that “people should never have to make these choices.”
“This is why today we are appealing to the better sense of countries, and of people, and asking them to invest in a healthier, safer world.”
