A batch of 379 more Rohingyas reached Bhasan Char in the seventh phase under the supervision of Bangladesh Navy on Thursday afternoon. Earlier on the day, 132 Rohingya men, 98 women and 149 children left Chittagong Port for Bhasan Char on a naval ship. These refugees are part of some 1,500 Rohingyas slated to be relocated to the island in this phase. Md Shahidul Islam, superintendent of police (SP) in Noakhali, said: "The Rohingya people arrived in Bhasan Char at 3pm by naval ship Penguin. This is the first phase of Rohingya relocation in Bhasan Char since the United Nations has joined the effort." According to Navy sources in Chattogram, 257 Rohingyas in the first group and 122 Rohingyas in the second group were brought from Ukhia in seven buses to the Navy's transit camp at Patenga Wednesday, where initial health check-ups were carried out and food was provided to them. Read: Rohingya relocation: 1,500 more going to Bhasan Char in 7th phase About 1,500-2,000 Rohingya men, women and children willing to go to Bhasan Char in the seventh phase gathered at the temporary transit point – Ukhiya Degree College – since Tuesday noon. Jamalida Begum, leader of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights in Ukhia, said the residents of the camp in Ukhia feel unsafe after the killing of Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah and the gun attack on a madrasa in Rohingya camp. "So, most of the Rohingyas are willing to move to Bashan Char." Meanwhile, Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Bhasan Char Police, said about 1,500 Rohingya refugees are expected to reach Bhasan Char in the seventh phase. "All the preparations have been completed to receive them." Read:UN arrival at Bhasan Char to ease better int’l coordination for repatriation: Japan In six phases, over 18,500 Rohingyas have been shifted to Bhasan Char so far. Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in camps in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char. Most of them have come to this country since August 25, 2017, when the Myanmar military launched a brutal offensive targeting the Muslim ethnic minorities.

The Rohingyas, now living in Bhasan Char, on Saturday interacted with the foreign diplomats and expressed their willingness to return to their homeland in Myanmar. They conveyed their "high satisfaction" over the existing facilities in Bhasan Char, which they considered safe, secured crime-free compared to the congested camps in Cox’s Bazar.  The Rohingyas profusely thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Government of Bangladesh for the exemplary humanitarian support that have been extended to them since the mass exodus.  “I want my children to grow with their own national identity in their own country,” a Rohingya representative was quoted as conveying to the diplomats who visited Bhasan Char on Saturday.  Some Rohingyas underscored the need to expand learning facilities for children and provide them opportunities for farming and fishing which would help in keeping them active.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs organised the day-long trip to Bhasan Char for the Heads of Missions of 10 Embassies/delegation - Turkey, the European Union (EU), the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK), France, Germany, Japan, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands.  Foreign Secretary (Senior Secretary) Masud Bin Momen, Disaster Management and Relief Secretary Md. Mohsin, Secretary Maritime Affairs Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rear Admiral (Retd.) Md. Khurshed Alam, RRRC Shah Rezwan Hayat and other senior officials of the Government accompanied the team. 

More Rohingyas are being relocated to the Bhasan Char island in the sixth phase. On the second day of the sixth phase, more than 1,700 Rohingyas were taken to Chattogram from the camps in Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday. Cox's Bazar Additional Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Shamsuddauja Nayan said that 1,716 Rohingya men, women and children left for Chittagong on 25 buses in the morning and at noon. Also read: Don’t worry about Rohingya relocation to Bhasan Char: Dhaka to UNHCR Rohingyas willing to go to Bhasan Char were brought to the temporary transit point at Ukhiya Degree College ground and given necessary items including food, water and medicine. They would be taken to Noakhali’s Bhasan Char from Chattogram’s Patenga under the Navy’s management. Also read: Don't undermine, misinterpret genuine efforts: Dhaka on Rohingya relocation Earlier, on March 30, the first day of the sixth phase, 2,495 Rohingyas reached Chattogram for Bhasan Char. In five previous phases, over 14,000 Rohingyas were shifted to Bhasan Char from the camps in Cox's Bazar.

About 2,500 Rohingyas are being relocated from the camps in Cox’s Bazar to Bhasan Char island in the 6th phase. Cox's Bazar Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Shah Rezwan Hayat said 47 buses carrying the Rohingyas have reached Chattogram. Rohingyas willing to go to Bhasan Char were brought to the temporary transit point at Ukhiya Degree College ground and given necessary items including food, water and medicine. Rohingya Majhis (leaders) said many forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals are now willing to move to Bhasan Char after learning about the facilities and quality of life there. Also read: Rohingya relocation: 1,778 more heading towards Bhasan Char Cox's Bazar Additional RRRC Shamsuddoza Nayan said the Rohingyas would be taken to Bhasan Char from Patenga under the Navy’s management on Wednesday. In five phases, over 14,000 Rohingyas were shifted to Bhasan Char. Bangladesh is currently hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in camps in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char. Most of them came here since August 25, 2017 when the Myanmar military launched a brutal offensive targeting the mainly-Muslim ethnic minority. Where is Bhasan Char? It surfaced 20 years ago 34 kilometres off the mainland and was never inhabited. Bangladesh spent millions of dollars to develop Bhasan Char and plans to relocate 100,000 Rohingyas there in phases in the face of growing concerns over the extreme congestion in Cox’s Bazar camps and to avert any untoward incident. Also read: Don’t worry about Rohingya relocation to Bhasan Char: Dhaka to UNHCR Contractors say the island’s infrastructure is like a modern township. A police station was also set up there recently. Who are the Rohingyas? The Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. Members of this ethnic minority are denied citizenship by Myanmar and many are forced to live in squalid camps in apartheid-like condition. State-sponsored discrimination against the Rohingyas stretches decades back. Also read: Don't undermine, misinterpret genuine efforts: Dhaka on Rohingya relocation Rohingya crisis and Bangladesh Bangladesh has long been urging the global community to take effective steps to put pressure on Myanmar to create a congenial atmosphere for Rohingya repatriation but there has been little progress so far. The presence of the huge number of Rohingya refugees in the coastal district has put them on a collision course with the locals. Many Rohingyas have allegedly got involved in various criminal activities.

People will not be allowed to flock to Bhashan Char for aimless wandering.

Trees will fill places in Cox’s Bazar left vacant by Rohingyas who have and will set for Bhashan Char in phases.

As part of the government’s initiative to relocate Rohingyas to Bhasan Char, 1,134 Rohingyas started their journey to the island by five ships on Tuesday in the second batch.

BNP on Monday strongly opposed the relocation of Rohingyas to Bhashan Char, saying it has manifested the government’s ‘limitless diplomatic and political failures’ to resolve the problem.

Rohingyas in Bangladesh who survived genocide in Myanmar are experiencing a "severe" mental health crisis, according to data in a new report published on Thursday by Fortify Rights.

Bangladesh has conveyed to the UN refugee agency that the international community has no reason to worry about relocation of Rohingyas to Bhasan Char.