Hasina govt failed to protect refugees in Bangladesh from Rohingya-led militant groups: Fortify Rights

The government under ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina largely failed to protect Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh from Rohingya-led militant groups, Fortify Rights said in a report published today (18 March). 

"For years, the government under ousted mrime minister Sheikh Hasina refused to publicly acknowledge the existence or activities of the Rohingya militant groups in Bangladesh territory. This denial resulted in a lack of access to justice or appropriate responses by Bangladesh authorities to Rohingya militant attacks on Rohingya refugees," the international rights body said in the report. 

The 78-page report, "I May Be Killed Any Moment": Killings, Abductions, Torture, and Other Serious Violations by Rohingya Militant Groups in Bangladesh, states that members of Rohingya militant groups in Bangladesh have killed, abducted, tortured, and threatened Rohingya refugees from Myanmar in acts that may amount to war crimes. 

The report finds "reasonable grounds" to believe that certain acts committed by militants against Rohingya men, women, and children in refugee camps in Bangladesh constitute war crimes due to a demonstrable "nexus" between the criminal acts in Bangladesh and the ongoing armed conflict in Myanmar.

The report recommends that the government of Bangladesh and international justice mechanisms—including the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and the International Criminal Court (ICC)—investigate Rohingya militant organisations operational in the refugee camps in Bangladesh and prosecute those responsible for war crimes.

"Rohingya armed groups are wreaking havoc in Bangladesh and Myanmar with near complete impunity," said John Quinley, director at Fortify Rights.

"War crimes are usually committed within the immediate theater of armed conflict but, in this case, specific crimes in Bangladesh are directly connected to the war in Myanmar and constitute war crimes. Bangladesh's interim government should cooperate with international justice mechanisms to investigate crimes and bring potential war criminals to justice."

The Fortify Rights report details yearslong and largely unmitigated deadly violence in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, including killings, abduction, torture, and threats and intimidation. It finds that deadly militant violence has increased significantly since the assassination of Mohib Ullah, a prominent Rohingya community leader and human rights defender, in September 2021. 

The report draws on interviews with 116 people, including Rohingya refugee survivors and eyewitnesses, Rohingya militants, UN officials, humanitarian aid workers, and others, about the ongoing violence in the camps. 

Fortify Rights spoke with former and current members of militant groups, including the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), and documented admissions of serious crimes.

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have suffered years of violence and killings at the hands of Rohingya militant groups. Reported killings by camp-based militants numbered 22 in 2021, 42 in 2022, 90 in 2023, and at least 65 in 2024. 

The majority of the killings by Rohingya militants documented by Fortify Rights occurred with impunity in the camps, creating a climate of fear for all camp residents, said Fortify Rights.

As well as killings, the report published today details torture, abduction, and other crimes by militant Rohingya groups operating in Bangladesh, primarily by ARSA and the RSO. 

The recent US government funding cuts are creating more space for Rohingya militants in the camps, which will significantly worsen the security of Rohingya refugees, according to Fortify Rights.

Donor governments should work with Bangladesh to redouble services for Rohingya at risk, including protective spaces and third-country resettlement, said Fortify Rights.