6 killed in attack in Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camp

Six people were killed and over a dozen were injured in a gun attack by miscreants in the Rohingya camp in Cox's Bazar's Ukhia upazila early Friday.

The miscreants attacked Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama Al-Islamiyah Madrasa in the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMN) Camp-18 in Ukhia around 4:15am. Four of the victims of the attack died on the spot and two others died after they were taken to the hospital, said sources at the police.

The slain Rohingyas are Md Idris, 32, Ibrahim Hossain, 24, Azizul Haque, 22, Md Amin, 32, Nur Alam alias Halim, 45, and Hamidullah, 55.

One of the injured named Nur Kaiser, 15, was in a critical condition, said Armed Police Battalion (APBn)-8 Deputy Commander Additional Superintendent of Police Md Kamran Hossain.

"Upon hearing about the attack, police personnel from Mainarghona Police Camp-12 rushed to the spot, rescued the injured and sent them to the hospital for treatment," said the APBn-8 deputy commander.

Police arrested one of the attackers, identified as Mujib, who possessed a gun, live ammunition and a knife, said the police official.

The attack took place 23 days after Muhibullah, former chairman of Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, was assassinated in his office.

On condition of anonymity, a number of camp residents said after Muhibullah was murdered, ordinary Rohingyas seeking repatriation held a rally at the madrasa recently. They called for resisting the members of the controversial armed group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa). Md Idris, a madrasa teacher, spoke at the programme. That is why the miscreants attacked and killed him.

APBn-8 Commander Shihab Kaiser Khan said, "It is not yet clear what caused the incident. Our members arrested a man named Mujib with weapons. We hope to get important information from him. The situation in the camp is normal. Attempts are being made to identify and catch the killers."

Crimes at Rohingya camp on the rise

Rohingya leaders Hamid Hossain, Mohammad Ibrahim and Abdus Shukkur, along with some other Rohingyas, alleged that Muhibullah's murder and yesterday's killings are linked.

Claiming that the Arsa members were responsible for the incident, the Rohingya leaders added that the Myanmar government is desperate to prove that the Rohingyas living in Bangladesh are criminals. For this reason, they are carrying out terrorist activities in the camp with the misguided Rohingyas.

The Myanmar government also aims put in question the case filed by Gambia against Myanmar over the alleged Rohingya genocide at the International Court of Justice in November 2019. That is why they are making every effort to portray the Rohingyas as terrorists to the world court.

According to the Cox's Bazar district police, the crimes committed by the Rohingyas are on the rise. In the last four years, 1,300 cases accusing 2,080 Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar for 12 types of crimes were filed. These crimes include murder, rape, kidnapping, robbery, arms and drug trafficking, human trafficking, and assault on police.

There have been 76 murder cases in Rohingya camps in four years. During this time, 762 drug trafficking cases, 28 human trafficking cases, 87 weapons cases, 65 rape cases and 10 robbery cases have been filed.

There have been 34 kidnapping and extortion cases and 89 cases against the Rohingyas for other crimes.

In the last 49 months, 234 people have been killed and another 360 were injured in clashes in Rohingya camps.

In 2018, there were 414 accused in 208 cases. In 2019, the number of cases increased to 263 and  649 were accused. In 2020, there were 184 cases accusing 449.

At least 15-20 armed terrorist forces are active inside the Rohingya camps and they aim to control the criminal world and spread dominance, said local people's representatives and NGO workers working in the Rohingya camps.

Apart from this, there are more than one armed terrorist force based in the camp. Each of these groups has 30-100 members. The camps become a haven for crime after the evening. The Rohingyas become involved in shootings and killings over a trivial incident. The camps are under tight surveillance by law enforcement during the day, but at night it is very quiet.

Engineer Helal Uddin, a member of the Rajapalang union parishad in Ukhia, said, "Rohingyas could easily cross the border with Myanmar. As a result, smuggling of yaba and gold has increased. And in order to control these businesses, many armed terrorist forces have formed a base in the camp. Consequently, the level of murder and crime is increasing day by day."

On condition of anonymity, a number of top drug dealers at the camp said, 25-30 lakh pieces of yaba worth hundreds of crores of taka are being transacted in the camp every day. Armed terrorist forces have formed inside and outside the Rohingya camps, mainly to control the yaba business.

Among the more well-known terrorist groups in the camp are Master Munna Group, Maulvi Yusuf Group, Shukkur Bahini, Abdul Hakim Bahini, Saddam Group, Zakir Bahini, Nabi Hossain Bahini, Putia Group and Salman Shah Group, Gias Bahini, and Shah Azam Group.