between October 2016 and January 2017, while 23,000 others had been internally displaced. In February 2017, the government of Bangladesh announced that it planned to relocate the new refugees and another 232,000 Rohingya refugees already in the country to Bhasan Char, a sedimentary island in the Bay of Bengal. The island first appeared around 2007, formed from washed down silt from the Meghna River. The nearest inhabited land, Hatiya Island, is around 30 km away. News agencies quoted a regional official describing the plan as "terrible". The move received substantial opposition from a number of parties. Human rights groups have described the plan as a forced relocation. Additionally, concerns were raised over the living conditions on the island, which is low-lying and prone to flooding. The island has been described as "only accessible during winter and a haven for pirates". Bangladesh authorities have been accused of beating Rohingya who try to flee or protest their conditions in Bhasan Char. Various destinations responded to the refugees: On 30 April 2017 Sri Lanka intercepted and detained an Indian boat of 32 Rohingya refugees off its northern coast after it entered Sri Lankan waters. In May 2017, Bangladesh detained 12 Rohingya people and 2 smugglers who attempted to leave the country by boat for Malaysia. In August 2017, Thailand announced that it was "preparing to receive" Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar. On 14 August 2017 India announced that it was deporting an estimated 40,000 Rohingya refugees including 14,000 of those registered with the U.N. refugee agency as well. In the months leading up to the announcement, a string of anti-Rohingya protests took place in the country. In September 2017, Nepal increased surveillance at its border with India to prevent more Rohingya refugees from entering the country. A small community of Rohingya refugees live in the capital, Kathmandu. In November 2017, the government of Bangladesh signed a pact with Myanmar to return the Rohingya refugees to their homes in the Rakhine territory. The deal arose after a diplomatic meeting on the matter between Aung San Suu Kyi and Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali, the foreign minister of Bangladesh. The accord was viewed by international commentators as a conscious effort by Suu Kyi to address criticism over her lack of action in the conflict. This decision, coming after both the United Nations and Rex Tillerson, US Secretary of State, declared that the actions undertaken by the Burmese