COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh – A massive fire swept through an overcrowded Rohingya Muslim camp in southern Bangladesh on Sunday, leaving thousands of refugees homeless, fire officials and the United Nations said.
There were no casualties at the Balukhali camp in Cox’s Bazar district, fire officer Emdadul Haque said.
UNHCR Bangladesh said in a tweet that Rohingya refugee volunteers were responding to the fire with the help of the agency and its partners. He did not provide further details.
More than a million Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar for decades, including about 740,000 who have crossed the border since August 2017, when Myanmar’s military began a brutal crackdown.
The situation in Myanmar worsened after the 2021 military coup, and efforts to repatriate refugees failed.
Learn more: “We are not allowed to dream.” There is no end in sight for the Rohingya Muslims in exile in Bangladesh.
Last year, the United States declared the crackdown on the Rohingya in Myanmar a genocide after US authorities confirmed reports of mass violence against civilians by the military in a systematic campaign against the ethnic minority. The Muslim Rohingya face widespread discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where many are denied citizenship and many other rights.
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