2 Rohingya community leaders killed in Bangladesh as security worsens in refugee camps
- Gangs have been trying to assert control over drug trafficking and intimidate the refugees’ civilian leadership through killings and abductions
- Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, an insurgent group fighting the military in Myanmar, blamed for deaths of the two Rohingya camp leaders
Bangladesh has been housing Rohingya refugees in a vast sprawl of camps since they fled a military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017 that is now the subject of a genocide investigation at the United Nations’ top court.
The squalid settlements have seen escalating violence in recent months, with gangs trying to assert control over drug trafficking and intimidate the refugees’ civilian leadership through killings and abductions.
Police spokesman Faruk Ahmed said two Rohingya camp leaders were killed late on Saturday at Camp 13, calling it one of the worst attacks in recent months.
“More than a dozen Rohingya miscreants hacked Maulvi Mohammad Yunus, 38, who is the head majhi of Camp 13. They also killed Mohammad Anwar, 38, another majhi. Yunus died on the spot and Amwar died at a hospital,” he said.
“Majhi” is a term for a Rohingya camp leader.
A senior officer of an elite police unit tasked with security in the camps blamed the killings on the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), an insurgent group fighting the military in Myanmar.
“These are targeted killings by ARSA. The internal clashes in Myanmar are affecting the security situation in the camps,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.