Dhaka, Aug 7 (bdnews24.com) – The United Nations has urged Bangladesh to ensure that NGOs continue to provide assistance to unregistered Rohingyas who fled from a recent riot in Myanmar.

The UN made the call on Tuesday after Bangladesh reportedly ordered three NGOs to stop their activities in and around unofficial camps near Cox's Bazar in the southeast, the UN website said quoting the spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Adrian Edwards, as telling reporters in Geneva.

The three NGOs are – Médecins Sans Frontières, Action Contre La Faim and Muslim Aid UK.

"If the order is implemented, it will have a serious humanitarian impact on some 40,000 unregistered people who fled Myanmar in recent years and settled in the Leda and Kutupalong makeshift sites," it quoted Edwards.

He also said locals nearby would also be affected as they had also benefitted from the basic services provided by the NGOs.

A riot between Muslim Rohingyas and Buddhist Rakhaines in the Rakhaine state of Myanmar saw thousands of people fleeing the state in June.

Many of them crossed the border with Bangladesh, but the government's firm stance against allowing Rohingyas did not let them in.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) has claimed that since the beginning of the crisis in June, it provided a total of 2,109 metric tonnes of food. It was distributed to over 102,000 people in June and close to 78,000 people in July, WFP added.

The agency also expressed concern over high malnutrition rate among the displaced population.

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