Rohingya tell Myanmar they refuse to return without recognition

A Rohingya refugee walks at a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, March 7, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

DHAKA (Reuters) - Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh refuse to return to Myanmar unless they are recognised as an ethnic group in their home country, leaders told visiting Myanmar officials on Sunday as fresh repatriation talks started.

A campaign by Myanmar's military in response to insurgent attacks in 2017 drove 730,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh's southeastern border district of Cox's Bazar, where they live in squalid camps, fearing further persecution if they return.