Bangladesh mobile operators have on government orders stopped selling new SIM cards to Rohingya refugees, officials said Monday, in a further sign of Dhaka's impatience following the latest failed repatriation move. Bangladesh has been hosting around a million Rohingya refugees in vast camps in the south-east since a military crackdown in neighbouring Myanmar prompted a huge exodus in August 2017.
In late August a repatriation initiative fell flat with the long-oppressed minority refugees refusing to return to Myanmar without guarantees for their safety and for citizenship. Adding to frustration in Dhaka, this was followed by a protest by some 200,000 Rohingya to mark two years since their arrival. There has also been a spike in violence and a rise in tensions with locals, and authorities fear internet and telephone access could contribute to further unrest.