Rohingya refugees arrive in Bangladesh, after being stranded at sea for weeks.
(CNN)Dozens of Rohingya refugees stranded at sea for weeks are being quarantined for coronavirus on a remote island in the Bay of Bengal after docking in Bangladesh on Saturday.
The 29 refugees, mostly women and children, were taken to the cyclone-prone island Bhashan Char -- also known as Thengar Char -- in order to protect the sprawling refugee camps of Cox's Bazar from the spread of Covid-19, Bangladesh Naval Lieutenant Abdur Rashid told CNN.
Cox's Bazar, home to nearly one million Rohingya refugees, has been in strict lockdown since early April -- only very limited movement is allowed within the squalid cluster of makeshift camps.
The refugees now on Bhashan Char were among hundreds of Rohingya Muslim refugees trapped at sea for weeks in "appalling conditions" after trying to flee to Malaysia, according to a statement from the European Union. The stateless ethnic minority are not recognized as citizens by their home country of Myanmar, despite tracing their roots there for centuries. Bangladesh has taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees who fled on humanitarian grounds, but they are not afforded any rights there and are confined to refugee camps. Authorities are still investigating where the group sailed from.
Rashid says the group -- which includes 19 women, five men and five children -- are not believed to be ill with the virus that has killed almost 250,000 people worldwide.
"They do not have corona symptoms, but the investigation and medical tests are underway," Rashid said.
Bangladesh Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mahbub Alam Talukder confirmed that 29 people were "sent to Bhashan Char by the Bangladesh military" where they have access to medical facilities, food and water. It is not clear if they will be returned to the mainland after a quarantine period, or if they will remain there, Talukder added.
Buildings intended to accomodate members of the Rohingya refugee community on the silt islet Bhashan Char.
They are the first Rohingya refugees to be sent to the island. The government has been building facilities there for several years, with the plan to relocate thousands of people from Cox's Bazar, though no timetable has been set.
Many of them fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh to escape a violent military crackdown in 2017, which led the International Court of Justice in The Hague to order Myanmar to protect the Rohingya population from acts of genocide.
The Myanmar government has denied committing genocide, but has admitted that some soldiers carried out war crimes. Multiple attempts at repatriating the refugees to Myanmar have failed, partly due to fears among the Rohingya population that they'll be targeted again. The United Nations is also concerned about its lack of access to the areas of return.
CNN was unable to reach the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry for comment. -----------------
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