DHAKA, Bangladesh 

Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus warned Thursday that thousands of young Rohingya growing up in refugee camps are becoming increasingly frustrated and angry amid a prolonged deadlock about their repatriation.

“It is a sad situation. Thousands of young people are growing up in camps with no hope. They are becoming frustrated and angry,” the Nobel laureate said during a meeting with Miyazaki Katsura, executive senior vice president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in Dhaka.

Bangladesh has hosted more than 1.3 million Rohingya Muslims since they fled a military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in August 2017. Despite multiple international efforts, no formal repatriation has taken place.

A statement from Yunus’ office said he raised concerns about the refugee situation and urged Japan to strengthen cooperation with Bangladesh in areas such as investment, fisheries, the Rohingya humanitarian response and youth development, including education and sports.

The UN refugee agency in Bangladesh said Thursday that relentless monsoon rains continue to batter Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, where most refugees are housed.

It said more than 2,930 people have been affected and over 435 shelters have been partially damaged in the last two weeks.