UNHCR, KSRelief sign $3 million aid deal for Rohingya refugees

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) have signed a $3 million agreement to provide emergency relief to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The agreement was signed during the visit of a delegation from KSRelief to the Rohingya camps Cox’s Bazar, according to a UNHCR press release. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, supervisor general of KSRelief, and Khaled Khalifa, UNHCR regional representative to the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective parties. “Since its establishment back in 2015, KSRelief has continued the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s long history of providing humanitarian assistance, and has closely cooperated with UNHCR by contributing US$45 million to date in response to a number of major displacement situations,” Abdullah Al Rabeeah said after the signing. Meanwhile, Khaled Khalifa said: “UNHCR appreciates KSRelief’s kind and timely contribution particularly in light of the pressing need for emergency assistance for thousands of Rohingya refugees who have arrived to Bangladesh in search of refuge and safety. Support from our partners is needed now more than ever.” More than 700,000 Rohingya refugees have crossed into Bangladesh since August 25 last year, when ethnic conflicts in Rakhine sparked the most rapid human exodus seen since the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The newly arrived refugees joined more than 400,000 others who were already living in cramped makeshift camps in Cox’s Bazar. Around 6,500 others have taken shelter in the no man’s land on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. On November 23, Dhaka and Naypyidaw signed an agreement to begin repatriating the refugees in January this year, but the process has stalled over technical and ground-level problems.