Kutupalong (Bangladesh) (AFP)

About 200,000 members of the Rohingya ethnic Muslim community demonstrated Sunday in a refugee camp in Bangladesh to commemorate the second anniversary of their exile from Burma.

Some 740,000 Rohingyas had fled the Burmese state of Rakhine (west) in August 2017 following an army crackdown in Burma - a country with a large Buddhist majority.

Entire families had joined in very difficult conditions 200,000 persecuted refugees who had already settled in camps on the other side of the border in Bangladesh.

Children, veiled women and men dressed in loincloths gathered Sunday in the largest refugee camp in the world shouting "God is great, long live the Rohingyas!".

Under a blazing sun, they intended to commemorate what they call "Genocide Day".

"I came here to seek justice for the murder of my two sons, and I will continue to fight until my last breath," said Tayaba Khatun, 50, wiping tears from her cheeks.

UN investigators have denounced a "genocide" of the Rohingya, calling for the prosecution of Burmese generals. Burma rejected the accusations, claiming to have defended against Rohingyas rebel attacks on police stations.

A Rohingya leader, Mohib Ullah, said on Sunday that members of this stateless minority want to return to live in Bangladesh, but under three conditions: to have security guarantees, to obtain Burmese nationality and to return to their villages.

"We have asked the Burmese government to open a dialogue, but we have received no response so far," Ullah said.

"We were beaten, killed and raped in Rakhine, but no matter, it's still there with us, and we want to go back."

About 200,000 Rohingyas participated in the peaceful rally, police officer Zakir Hassan told AFP.

Security has been strengthened in the Kutupalang refugee camp, the largest in the world, where more than 600,000 Rohingyas live.

Bangladesh and Burma signed a refugee repatriation agreement in 2017. But two attempts in November and this week failed because they refused to leave.

On Saturday, police said they shot dead two Rohingyas in a refugee camp suspected of murdering a political leader of the ruling party.

© 2019 AFP