US$597mil raised for Rohingya refugees at aid conference

Rohingya refugees collecting bamboo poles and other relief supplies at Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhia. International donors on Friday morning stumped up an additional US$597 million in humanitarian aid for Rohingya refugees languishing in camps in Bangladesh after they fled ethnic violence in Myanmar. - AFP

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 23 (AFP): International donors on Friday morning (Asean time) stumped up an additional US$597 million in humanitarian aid for Rohingya refugees languishing in camps in Bangladesh after they fled ethnic violence in Myanmar.

The UN had appealed for more than $1 billion this year to meet the humanitarian needs of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, where more than 800,000 are sheltering in sprawling camps, having fled across the border.