Bangladesh relocates more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees to remote island

Authorities in Bangladesh have sent a group of more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees to an isolated island, despite calls from human rights groups for the process to stop.

The 1,642 refugees boarded seven Bangladeshi naval vessels for the trip to Bhashan Char, according to an official.

Bhasan Char was once regularly submerged by monsoon rains but now has flood protection embankments, houses, hospitals and mosques.

Located 34 kilometres from the mainland, the island surfaced only 20 years ago and has never been…