Four Rohingya refugees were killed in a gunfight between two insurgent groups in Bangladesh, highlighting the deteriorating security situation in the overcrowded relief camps. Bangladesh is home to around a million Rohingya refugees who fled a military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017.
The refugee camps have become a battleground for rival armed groups involved in drug trafficking and human smuggling. The clash occurred between the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO). The RSO has been challenging the larger ARSA for control of the camps since the beginning of the year.
The violence in the camps has been ongoing, with over 60 Rohingya refugees killed in clashes this year, including women and children. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) expressed alarm at the deteriorating security conditions in the camps. Malnutrition is also widespread, as a funding shortfall has forced the UN food agency to cut rations by a third.
The Rohingya remaining in Myanmar face severe persecution, with authorities denying them citizenship and access to healthcare. The dire situation in both Myanmar and the Bangladeshi camps has led thousands of Rohingya to undertake dangerous sea trips to Southeast Asian countries in an attempt to escape. Last month, over 1,000 Rohingya arrived in Indonesia, the largest wave since 2015. The UNHCR estimates that nearly 350 Rohingya died or went missing last year during hazardous sea crossings.
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