Three Rohingya killed in turf war in refugee camps in Bangladesh

Almost all of them live in sprawling, squalid camps that have seen increased skirmishes between armed groups this year after refugees were forcibly recruited to fight in Myanmar’s civil war.

At least 100 members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacked a group of refugees conducting a security patrol at a camp in Cox’s Bazar district on Monday, police said.

“They cut the barbed wire fence around the camp and attacked the Rohingya who were protecting the camp,” said Mohammad Iqbal, a commander of the armed police battalion responsible for security in the camps.

“Three Rohingya were killed and seven injured. When police arrived at the scene, they were also attacked by ARSA members,” he told AFP, adding that the victims were shot and attacked with knives.

A Rohingya community leader in the camps, who wished to remain anonymous, said the three men killed were members of the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO).

“Killings and shootings are taking place day and night in the camp. Yesterday, ARSA killed three RSOs. No Rohingya is safe here. ARSA and RSO have made the camps a living hell for the Rohingya refugees,” he said.

The security situation in the camps has deteriorated since April after rival Rohingya groups began forcibly recruiting young Rohingya men and teenagers to fight in Myanmar.

Around 1,500 Rohingya have been displaced from the camps to join the conflict, according to a confidential report circulated among UN agencies last month and seen by AFP.

Concerned parents and Rohingya community leaders have set up patrol groups in the camps to prevent recruitment raids.

At least 20 Rohingya have been killed this year in camp clashes between rival militant groups, the national daily Prothom Alo reported.

Rival Rohingya armed groups are conducting individual campaigns to provide troops for Myanmar’s military, which is responsible for the violent expulsion of the Rohingya from the country in 2017.

These groups say the Rohingya must ally themselves with their old enemies in the Myanmar army to face a new threat.

The recruits were sent across the border to fight against the Arakan Army, which says it is seeking greater autonomy in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, which is also home to around 600,000 Rohingya.

str/sa/gle/sco