Bangladesh, Myanmar aim to finish Rohingya return in 2 years

Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed they will try to complete the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled from violence in Myanmar within two years, Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

Rohingya Muslims offer prayers before the burial of a fellow refugee at Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox's bazar, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed that they will try to complete the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled from violence in Myanmar within two years, Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

The ministry said a joint working group from the two countries finalized an agreement on Monday on the physical arrangements for the repatriation of the ethnic Rohingya. It said they agreed that the process "would be completed preferably within two years from the commencement of repatriation."

Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an initial agreement in November to repatriate the Rohingya, and the 30-member working group was set up last month to oversee the process. Many have questions whether Rohingya would return to Myanmar under the current circumstances, and whether Myanmar would accept them and allow them to live freely.

Rohingya Muslims refugees talk on their way to their makeshift tents at Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox's bazar, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed that they will try to complete the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled from violence in Myanmar within two years, Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Under the November agreement, Rohingya will need to provide evidence of their residency in Myanmar in order to return — something many say they do not have.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR was consulted but it's very important the agency is fully involved to guarantee the repatriation adheres to international standards.

A Rohingya refugee boy extends his hand to receive relief material at Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox's bazar, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed that they will try to complete the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled from violence in Myanmar within two years, Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

It's essential the return of the Rohingyas is voluntary, takes place "in safety and dignity," and allows them to return to their homes which will require a huge investment for reconstruction because of the destruction, he said.

It will also require "a huge effort of reconciliation is needed to allow it to take place properly," Guterres said.

"The worst would be to move these people from camps in Bangladesh to camps in Myanmar, keeping an artificial situation for a long time and not allowing for them to regain their normal lives," said Guterres, who was previously the U.N. high commissioner for refugees for 10 years.

A Rohingya Hindu refugees boy swings outside his tent near Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox's bazar, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed that they will try to complete the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled from violence in Myanmar within two years, Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

More than 650,000 ethnic Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since August, when Myanmar's military launched a brutal crackdown in Rakhine state after a militant group attacked police posts. Myanmar's army described it as "clearance operations" against terrorists, but the United Nations and the U.S. have called it "ethnic cleansing."

Despite having lived in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar for generations, Rohingya Muslims have been denied citizenship, freedom of movement and access to basic social rights. They are generally called "Bengalis," a reference to the belief that they migrated illegally from Bangladesh.

A Rohingya Muslim offers afternoon prayers at a make shift Mosque at Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox's bazar, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed that they will try to complete the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled from violence in Myanmar within two years, Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Arif Hossein, a former teacher in a Myanmar government school who fled to the Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Bangladesh after violence erupted in August, said he would return if the international organizations working to protect the refugees are able to go along.

"And if we get a nationality identity card in Myanmar, then we are more than willing to go back. We really wish to go back to our land. They should return our land and also rebuild our homes," he said.

Rohingya refugee stand and watch as others receive relief material at Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox's bazar, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed that they will try to complete the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled from violence in Myanmar within two years, Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Myanmar officials said the length of the repatriation will depend on how quickly Bangladesh can provide documentation of refugees' previous residency and how fast applications are submitted.

"Even though we are talking about a two-year process, it totally depends on how the two countries cooperate," Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay said. "Bangladesh authorities also need to proceed with the paperwork and documents for refugees and send it to us fast."

Rohingya refugee carry relief material at Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox's bazar, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed that they will try to complete the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled from violence in Myanmar within two years, Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Since the November agreement, Myanmar's civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi has pledged to take measures to halt the outflow of Rohingya to Bangladesh and restore normalcy in the Rakhine region.

Myanmar officials plan to start the repatriation process next Tuesday. Zaw Htay said at least 500 Hindus and 500 Muslims will be in the first group to return.

A Rohingya boy looks up as others study Islam's holy book of Quran in a make shift Mosque at Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox's bazar, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed that they will try to complete the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled from violence in Myanmar within two years, Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

State-run media in Myanmar reported Monday that a camp is being prepared that can accommodate about 30,000 people in 625 buildings, and that at least 100 buildings will be completed by the end of the month. It would be the first camp built in the repatriation process.

A Bangladeshi officer takes the photograph of a Rohingya boy while his mother holds him during the process of registration at Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox's bazar, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said the discussions between Myanmar and Bangladesh failed to include any understanding of what the Rohingya want.

"Where are considerations for protection of the Rohingya from Myanmar security forces who months ago were raping and killing them?" said Phil Robertson, deputy director of the group's Asia Division. "Why are basic issues like citizenship, freedom of movement, and livelihoods not discussed now so refugees can make informed choices?"

Rohingya Hindu refugees stand outside their make shift shelters at Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox's bazar, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed that they will try to complete the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled from violence in Myanmar within two years, Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar's ruling military declared a temporary ceasefire in the country's civil war Wednesday to facilitate relief efforts following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that has killed more than 3,000 people.

The surprise announcement by military leaders who also head the unelected government came late Wednesday on state television MRTV, which said the halt in fighting would run until April 22 to show compassion for people affected by Friday's quake.

The announcement followed unilateral temporary ceasefires announced by armed resistance groups opposed to military rule, and the military warned that those groups must refrain from attacking the state and regrouping, or else face "necessary" measures.

The resistance forces have also reserved the right to fight in self-defense.

Earlier Wednesday, rescuers pulled two men alive from the ruins of a hotel in Myanmar's capital, a third from a guesthouse in another city, and another in the country’s second city, Mandalay, five days after the quake. But most teams were finding only bodies.

The quake hit midday Friday, toppling thousands of buildings, collapsing bridges and buckling roads. The death toll rose to 3,003 on Wednesday, with more than 4,500 people injured, MRTV reported. Local reports suggest much higher figures.

The quake worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis due to Myanmar's civil war. More than 3 million people had been displaced from their homes and nearly 20 million were in need even before it hit, according to the United Nations.

In the capital, Naypyitaw, a team of Turkish and local rescue workers used an endoscopic camera to locate Naing Lin Tun on a lower floor of the damaged hotel where he worked. They pulled him gingerly through a hole jackhammered through a floor and loaded him on to a gurney nearly 108 hours after he was first trapped.

Shirtless and covered in dust, he appeared weak but conscious in a video released by the local fire department, as he was fitted with an IV drip and taken away. State-run MRTV reported later in the day that another man was saved from the same building, more than 121 hours after the quake struck. Both were age 26.

Another man, a 47-year-old primary school principal, was rescued by a team of Malaysian and local crews from a collapsed guesthouse in the Sagaing township, near the epicenter of the earthquake close to Myanmar's second-largest city, Mandalay, where a fourth rescue was reported Wednesday night.

The earthquake also rocked neighboring Thailand, causing the collapse of a high-rise building under construction in Bangkok. One body was removed from the rubble early Wednesday, raising the death total in Bangkok to 22 with 35 injured, primarily at the construction site.

Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021 from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking what has turned into significant armed resistance.

Ceasefires had been announced earlier this week by the People’s Defense Force, which is the armed wing of the shadow opposition National Unity Government, and the Three Brotherhood Alliance, a trio of ethnic minority guerrilla armies.

That had put pressure on the military government to follow suit, said Morgan Michaels, a Singapore-based analyst with the International Institute of Strategic Studies.

It's too early to say whether a pause in fighting could lead to something longer lasting, he said. “It would require very deft and active diplomacy to transform a humanitarian pause into something more lasting. And that’s not guaranteed,” Morgans said.

The military government was particularly vulnerable to bad publicity this week because its leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, was expected for a high-profile visit to a regional conference in the Thai capital Thursday.

It will be his first to a country other than his government’s main supporters and backers — China, Russia and Russia ally Belarus — since he attended another regional meeting in Indonesia in 2021.

Min Aung Hlaing and other senior leaders are shunned and sanctioned by many Western countries for their 2021 takeover and human rights abuses as they try to crush the resistance to their rule.

Before Wednesday's ceasefire announcement, an opposition militia belonging to the Brotherhood Alliance reported that the military fired on a relief convoy of nine Chinese Red Cross vehicles late Tuesday in the northern part of Shan state.

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army said that the Chinese Red Cross was bringing supplies to Mandalay and had reported its route to the military.

But Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for the military government, said that the convoy hadn't notified authorities of its route ahead of time, MRTV reported. While not mentioning the Red Cross, he said that security forces had fired into the air to deter a convoy that refused to stop.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun didn't comment on the attack. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it was looking into the matter.

Countries have pledged millions in assistance to help Myanmar and humanitarian aid organizations with the monumental task ahead, while also sending in specialist search and rescue teams and setting up field hospitals.

India and China, both neighbors of Myanmar that compete for influence there, have been especially quick and generous with assistance. Multiple other countries have sent teams, including Turkey, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia.

The U.S. government has pledged $2 million in emergency aid and sent a three-person team to assess how best to respond given drastic cuts to U.S. foreign assistance.

United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that continuing aftershocks are complicating humanitarian response efforts. In Mandalay City, many people are completely cut off from electricity and running water.

“People affected continue to need urgent healthcare and medical supplies, safe drinking water, food and other critical items,” Dujarric said. “Tents and temporary shelter are needed, as well as latrines and other hygiene items, to prevent disease outbreaks.”

Most of the details so far have come from Mandalay, which was near the epicenter of the earthquake, and Naypyitaw, about 270 kilometers (165 miles) north of Mandalay.

Many areas are without power, telephone or cellphone connections, and difficult to reach by road, but more reports are beginning to trickle in.

In Singu township, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) north of Mandalay, 27 gold miners were killed in a cave-in, the independent Democratic Voice of Burma reported.

In the area of Inle Lake, a popular tourist destination northeast of the capital, many people died when homes built on wooden stilts in the water collapsed in the earthquake, the Global New Light of Myanmar reported.

Matthew Lee in Washington, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Jintamas Saksornchai and Grant Peck in Bangkok contributed to this report.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescuers conduct searches for survivors at the collapsed Sky Villa residence in Mandalay, Myanmar, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Cai Yang/Xinhua via AP)

Victims rest near temporary tents distributed by Myanmar military near Mandalay palace in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Victims rest near Mandalay palace in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Victims line up for food on a road near Mandalay palace in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Victims line up for food on a road near Mandalay palace in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Victims rest near temporary tents distributed by Myanmar military near Mandalay palace in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Victims rest on the pavement near Mandalay palace in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Victims rest near temporary tents distributed by Myanmar military near Mandalay palace in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese rescuers move a survivor out from a collapsed building in the aftermath of an earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Cai Yang/Xinhua via AP)

A damaged pagoda is seen in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Amarapura township, Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

A person enquires about his relative working at an under construction high-rise building that collapsed after Friday's earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A person watches the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Workers wait to get their identification checked before entering into the site of an under-construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Soldiers from fire services spray water to settle the dust as heavy machineries are deployed to clear the rubble from an under construction high-rise building that collapsed after Friday's earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Birds fly past the site of an under construction high-rise building that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Damaged buildings are seen in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Electric workers rush to repair power facilities like wires and cables at a quake site in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Local residents ride motorbikes while rescuers clean debris from damaged buildings in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Damaged buildings are seen in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

People inspect their homes, damaged following Friday's earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Myanmar's police rescuers carry belonging from the site of a collapsed building in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

People inspect their homes, damaged following Friday's earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Local residents ride motorbikes near damaged buildings in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Rescuers clean debris from damaged buildings in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

People clean debris from damaged buildings in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Buddhist novice monks take rest under temporary shelter, near a road in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Damaged pagoda is seen in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Amarapura township, Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Damaged pagoda is seen in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Amarapura township, Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

A Buddhist monk gestures as he talks near a damaged pagoda in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Amarapura township, Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Buddhist novice monks sit under temporary shelter near a road, in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Buddhist novice monks line up to have their alms under temporary shelter near a road in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Local resident carrying a bike walks past a damaged building in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Damaged pagoda is seen in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Amarapura township, Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Damaged buildings are seen in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Damaged buildings are seen in the aftermath of Friday's earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

A rescuer works through rubble of a collapsed building following Friday's earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo)