Gunmen Kill Another Rohingya at Teknaf Refugee Camp
Gunmen Kill Another Rohingya at Teknaf Refugee Camp
A Rohingya man was shot and killed in the Nayapara Registered Rohingya Refugee Camp in Teknaf, Cox's Bazar, on Thursday night, allegedly by members of a rival armed group amid an ongoing struggle for dominance and control over camp committees. Police identified the victim as Hasan Ahmad, 45, who they said was a member of the Zakir gang.
The incident occurred around 10 p.m. in the H Block of the Nayapara camp. Captain Mohammad Kawsar Sikder, commanding officer of the 16 Armed Police Battalion (APBN), confirmed the death on Friday afternoon. Hasan Ahmad, a resident of shed number 634 in the camp's H Block, was the son of Sultan Ahmad. Following the shooting, police recovered the body and sent it to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital for autopsy. Authorities stated that Ahmad had a criminal record, facing three arms cases, two attempted robbery cases, and two kidnapping charges.
Police and local Rohingya sources indicate that members of the Saddam armed group carried out the attack due to a long-standing feud and the groups' struggle for supremacy within the camp, including control over mosque committees. On Thursday night, a member of the adjacent Muchani Registered Camp Committee reportedly called Hasan out of his shelter under the pretense of discussing the formation of a mosque committee. As he reached the H Block of Nayapara camp, six to seven armed individuals, lying in wait, opened indiscriminate fire on him.
Hasan sustained a gunshot wound to the right side of his chest. Local Rohingya residents transported him to a private clinic near the camp. His condition deteriorated, and he succumbed to excessive bleeding while being transferred to the Teknaf Upazila Health Complex.
Captain Mohammad Kawsar Sikder of the 16 APBN reiterated that the Saddam group members entered the camp from the hills to carry out the attack, driven by previous enmity and the battle for camp dominance, before retreating back into the hills.
An anonymous Rohingya leader expressed that the incident has sparked tension across the refugee camp, with the two rival factions now in a confrontational stance, causing widespread fear among ordinary refugees. However, Teknaf Police Inspector (Investigation) Sukanta Chowdhury stated that the camp situation is currently stable and operations are underway to apprehend those involved in the violence.
According to law enforcement data, over 1.4 million Rohingya refugees reside in 33 camps across Ukhiya and Teknaf, where at least nine armed groups are reportedly active. This latest killing follows a series of violent incidents; on May 12, Hasmat Ullah, 22, was shot during clashes between the Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA), also known as Nabi Hossain's group, and the Arakan Rohingya Organization (ARO) in Ukhiya's Balukhali Camp-8 East. Furthermore, on May 5 and 6, two other Rohingya leaders were killed in Ukhiya camps during conflicts and retaliatory attacks between two armed groups.
