UN says conditions not yet in place for safe Rohingya return from Bangladesh

Conditions in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state “are not in place to enable safe and sustainable returns” for more than 600,000 Rohingya refugees, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday. The refugees have fled to Bangladesh to escape violence since late August. The UNHCR said it had still not seen a repatriation agreement signed by the two countries on Thursday, adding that any return of the “traumatized” group must be safe and voluntary. Spokesman Adrian Edwards said it is important that “international standards apply, and we are ready to help.”