EU announces additional €3m aid for Rohingyas

The European Commission, the executive body of European Union, has announced additional humanitarian aid of €3 million to address the most pressing needs of Rohingya civilians. The funding comes on top of the €12m announced in May 2017 during Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides’s visit to Rakhine State. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Stylianides said: “The European Union is providing further emergency humanitarian aid as the situation continues to be critical. “This additional funding will help provide emergency shelter, water, food and health assistance for newly arrived refugees in Bangladesh and people in need in Myanmar, as soon as humanitarian access to the latter is restored.” She said: “The immediate restoration of humanitarian assistance in northern Rakhine State is needed in order to address what is already a precarious humanitarian situation, and to avoid an escalation of the crisis. “I thank the government and people of Bangladesh for their hospitality in sheltering many refugees. The European Union remains committed to support those who are forced to flee their homes during these difficult times.” The EU has been providing humanitarian support in Myanmar and Bangladesh for many years. Since 1994, the European Commission has provided €232 million in humanitarian aid to Myanmar. Total EU humanitarian aid to Bangladesh since 2007 amounts to €153.6 million. According to UN estimates, as of Tuesday, around 370,000 Rohingya refugees have entered Bangladesh since Myanmar security forces re-launched their crackdown in the Rakhine state following insurgent attacks on Myanmar police outposts and an army base on August 25.