Bangladeshi minister praises Turkey’s help to Rohingya
Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury, Bangladesh's minister of Disaster Management and Relief, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdau011f on Nov. 23, 2017. (IHA Photo)


Turkey was the first country to help Rohingya Muslims, a Bangladeshi minister said Thursday.

Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury, minister of Disaster Management and Relief, met Abdullah Erin, Governor of southeastern Sanliurfa province of Turkey.

Erin, for his part, said Turkey sees Bangladesh as a brother country.

Chowdhury also said Turkey set an example by hosting millions of Syrian refugees.

Earlier on Thursday, Chowdhury visited Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency's (TIKA) headquarters in the capital Ankara and said the aid agency established kitchens in the camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar District and provided food to 20,000 refugees.

In a meeting with Chowdhury in Ankara, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdağ said: "Turkey had promised to build 20,000 prefabricated homes for 100,000 people. We decided to increase this to 25,000, so we will be able to serve almost 125,000 people."

Since Aug. 25, over 620,000 Rohingya have crossed from Myanmar's western state of Rakhine into Bangladesh, according to the U.N..

The refugees are fleeing a military operation that has seen security forces and Buddhist mobs kill men, women and children, loot homes and torch Rohingya villages.

Rohingya, described by the U.N. as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

The U.N. documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings and disappearances committed by security personnel.

In a recent report, U.N. investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.