4 Rohingya killed in Bangladesh camp gunfire

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Four Rohingya men were killed as two insurgent groups engaged in gunfire early Wednesday to "establish supremacy" in the southeast Ukhiya camps of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, said police.

Two more Rohingya were injured in a stabbing attack, officer-in-charge of Ukhiya Police Station Shamim Hossain told Anadolu.

Myanmar's armed separatist groups Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) were primarily suspected of involvement in the incident, said the official.

The ARSA and RSO insurgent groups are active in Myanmar's northern Rakhine State, but in Cox's Bazar, they have locked horns to establish supremacy in the refugee camps.

Human Rights Watch said in July at least 48 Rohingya have been killed this year so far, while 40 were killed in 2022, with at least 11 armed groups operating in Cox's Bazar camps.

Nearly 1.2 million Rohingya live in Bangladesh, the majority of whom fled a brutal military crackdown in Rakhine in Aug. 2017. Most of them are housed in overcrowded camps in Cox's Bazar district, but over 33,000 have been relocated to the island of Bhasan Char since late 2020.