Bangladesh to build barbed-wire fences around Rohingya refugee camps

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Authorities in Bangladesh will build barbed-wire fences around sprawling camps housing Rohingya refugees to stop their expansion, a Cabinet minister said Thursday.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the fences were ordered by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had earlier told authorities to open the border to allow hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya to escape from a harsh military crackdown in neighboring Myanmar two years ago.

Khan did not say exactly when construction of the fences would begin at more than 30 camps near the border. Last year, the UN-established Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar recommended the prosecution of top Myanmar military commanders on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Myanmar has rejected the allegations. Earlier this month, Bangladesh’s telecommunication regulator asked cellphone companies to halt service in the camps and restrict internet access because of a “security threat.” The regulator said a recent survey in the camps revealed that cellphones are being used there illegally. (AP)