COX’s BAZAAR: Two Rohingya community leaders were brutally murdered by a mob on Saturday in Bangladesh, as security deteriorates in camps that are home to almost a million refugees. Since fleeing a military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017 that is currently the focus of a genocide investigation at the UN’s top court, Rohingya refugees have been housed in Bangladesh in a massive sprawl of camps.
As gangs attempt to exert control over drug trafficking and coerce the civilian leadership of the refugees, violence in the dismal camps has increased in recent months.Two Rohingya camp leaders were reportedly slain late on Saturday at Camp 13, which a police spokesman described as one of the bloodiest attacks in recent memory.
Maulvi Mohammad Yunus, 38, the leader of Camp 13, was hacked by more than a dozen miscreants from the Rohingya community. Also murdered was Mohammad Anwar.Unlike Anwar, who passed away in a hospital, Yunus passed away immediately.
The killings were attributed to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), an insurgent organisation battling the Myanmar military, by a member of an elite police squad in charge of maintaining security in the camps.This is ARSA carrying out targeted killings. The security situation in the camps is being impacted by internal fighting in Myanmar, he claimed.
Long-running territory fights between gangs over the methamphetamine pill-based drug trade have intensified, according to Cox’s Bazar’s police chief. Mahfuzul Islam claims that there have been more homicides in the camp this year compared to last.A nephew of one of those killed on Saturday and a prominent member of the Rohingya community both charged ARSA with the murders.
