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Updated October 22nd, 2021 at 17:34 IST

Rohingya camp violence: 7 dead, 10 injured in clashes between 2 groups in Bangladesh

Bangladesh Police rushed those injured to nearby hospitals, at least 2 succumbed during treatment. A Rohingya refugee was arrested with a firearm.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
Bangladesh
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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At least seven refugees have died, and ten others were critically wounded after a sporadic fight broke out in Cox’s Bazar district's Balukhali camp between two groups of Rohingya refugees in southern Bangladesh on Friday. Shihab Kaiser Khan, commander of the Armed Police Battalion in charge of security in the Rohingya refugee camp responded to the scene of violence. The latter told the news agencies that it wasn’t immediately clear to the law enforcement authorities as to why the violence broke out, but several refugees sustained serious injuries in the clashes. Police rushed those injured to the nearby hospitals, at least two succumbed during the medical treatment. A Rohingya refugee was arrested on Friday with firearm, six rounds of ammunition and a knife. 

Bangladesh's Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal reportedly said that “arrangements will be made to increase security” at the Rohingya camps, following the violent incident. 

Illegal drug smuggling, weapons, firearm incidents in Rohingya refugee camps 'on the rise'

Bangladesh's police suspected on Friday that the fight may have broken out between the two factions over asserting supremacy within the camp. Reports of illegal drug business have also emerged. Violence, illicit drug activities, crime has been on the rise in Rohingya refugee since past several months, the Bangladesh government had claimed in press statements. Last month, an international representative of ethnic Rohingya refugees was brutally shot to death in a firearm incident at a camp in Bangladesh by unknown assailants. 

The victim, in his 40s, was the key spokesman representing the Muslim ethnic group in international meetings, Associated Press confirmed. He had also made a trip to the White House in 2019 to press for religious freedom and held a dialogue with the then US President Donald Trump. The latter was a spokesperson leading the fight against the persecution faced by the Rohingya community in Myanmar. Friday’s violence occurred just three weeks after refugee leader Mohibullah’s murder in the sub-district of Ukhiya. Police had made several detentions related to the crime. 

At a state conference earlier, Bangladeshi officials complained that the Rohingya refugees were committing serious crimes in the refugee camps, including abduction, rape, and demands for ransom. They were also smuggling drugs from Myanmar. “Lack of accessibility to basic services have acted as strong push factors for Rohingyas to take up ‘Yaba’ drug trafficking,” Observer Research Foundation’s investigative report claimed. In 2018, a record 53 million methamphetamine pills were seized from the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, prompting the arrest of over  25,000 refugees. India’s neighbour Bangladesh currently hosts more than 900,000 Rohingyas in densely populated refugee camps that have infiltrated Myanmar due to genocide. 

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Published October 22nd, 2021 at 17:34 IST

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