UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The number of Rohingya refugees who have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh since Aug. 25 has reached 624,000, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Monday.
An average of 430 Rohingya refugees entered Bangladesh per day this past week, a slowdown compared to the previous week.
The Rohingyas fled their homes in northern Rakhine State of Myanmar into neighboring Bangladesh after deadly attacks staged by the rebel Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army on police posts on Aug. 25 allegedly touched off a wave of retribution by government and vigilante forces.
Rohingyas arriving in refugee camps -- some having traversed an inlet of the Bay of Bengal on makeshift rafts and boats -- reported widespread violence against them.
On reports of an agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar on the repatriation of the refugees, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said it is important that people are able to return to the place they came from "in a safe, dignified and protected manner."
The ethnic Rohingyas are denied citizenship in the largely Buddhist nation.