Rohingya refugees’ safety must be ensured amid violent clashes in Cox’s Bazaar : Amnesty International 

Amnesty International has urged to ensure safety in the refugee camps area in Cox's Bazar as violence broke out at the Kutupalong refugee camp after two rival groups were seeking to take control of illicit drug trading.  

At least two thousand Rohingya refugees have been forced to flee their shelters and around a dozen shelters were burned to the ground on October 7, according to a press release. 

"The situation inside the camps is highly precarious and, unless the authorities take the necessary action to quell the violence and protect refugees, there's a serious risk of further bloodshed," said Saad Hammadi, South Asia Campaigner of Amnesty International. 

"Those suffering most are the Rohingya refugees caught in the middle. The Bangladeshi authorities must heighten security inside the camps as long as necessary to ensure their safety and launch an immediate and impartial investigation into the violence to bring those responsible to justice," he added. 

Rohingya refugees told Amnesty International that the clash broke out between a group that has been operating a drug cartel within the refugee camp and another armed group called the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) as they vie for control of the camps. The violence reportedly started after negotiations over a partnership between the two groups broke down. Local media reports say that both groups have been using locally made guns and iron bars.

The Bangladeshi authorities dispatched additional security personnel to the camps on October 6, but violent clashes have continued. Last month, Minister AKM Mozammel Huq, said that watchtowers and close circuit television cameras would be installed to increase surveillance inside the camps.

According to Rohingya refugees who spoke to Amnesty International, the violence was sparked in part by a battle for control over the trade of methamphetamine tablets, a recreational drug manufactured in Myanmar and smuggled into Bangladesh. In light of the Bangladeshi government's violent ongoing crackdown on the illegal drug trade, which includes allegations of extrajudicial executions, there are fears among refugees that the intensifying clashes are putting everyone in the camps at even greater risk.

According to Bangladesh's human rights organisation Odhikar, the Bangladeshi authorities killed more than 100 Rohingya refugees in alleged extrajudicial executions between August 2017 and July 2020 purportedly in crackdowns on the illegal drug trade in Cox's Bazar.

"The authorities should not take any measures that violate the human rights of the refugees. The violence is being committed by people belonging to criminal gangs, who should be held to account in fair trials for violent crimes," said Saad Hammadi.

Rohingya refugees are also afraid that Bangladesh's government could use the ongoing violence as a pretext to relocate them to Bhashan Char, a remote silt island in the Bay of Bengal that has yet to complete the United Nations' assessment for safe habitation. The refugees told rights groups including Amnesty International that they do not wish to relocate to the island out of fear of unsafe conditions and isolation.

"Relocating the refugees to Bhashan Char will neither end their current insecurity nor bring about a durable solution to the refugee crisis. Instead, authorities must engage with the Rohingya refugees, take note of their concerns and ensure participation in the decisions that affect them," said Saad Hammadi.