Three killed in refugee camp stampede: report
Two children and a woman were killed in a stampede for aid near a Bangladesh refugee camp, UN agencies said yesterday amid widespread fights among Rohingyas for food and clothing thrown from relief trucks, reports AFP.
The incident occurred on Friday at Balukhali in Cox's Bazar where tens of thousands of Rohingyas have camped for weeks after fleeing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine State.
"Two children and one woman were killed in a stampede during an unauthorised clothing distribution on the road in Balukhali Pan Bazar area," said a report prepared by a group of UN agencies and two charities, according to AFP.
The Daily Star, however, could not independently verify it.
The Inter Sector Coordination Group, which is led by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), in its updated report on Friday, said two children and one woman were injured during an unauthorised clothing distribution in Balukhali.
It did not say what happened to the injured people later.
Ukhia Police Station Inspector (investigation) Mohammad Kai Kislu said they have no reports of death due to stampede.
"This is propaganda," he told The Daily Star.
Quoting a UN agency, AFP reported: "Despite local regulations and the control room established, private distributions of relief items continue."
AFP correspondents have witnessed violent scrambles for aid at camps around Cox's Bazar. Refugee witnesses have also told of stampedes.
A local rights expert slammed the government for the chaotic relief management, saying fights were breaking out each time an aid truck arrived and when food sacks were thrown to the refugees.
Two police officials told AFP that they were unaware of any deaths of refugees due to a stampede in the Rohingya camps.
"We know two Rohingyas have died on Friday at Balukhali area. They included a six-month-old baby who died of pneumonia," local police chief Mohammed Kai-Kislu said.
A 70-year-old man died of natural causes, he said, adding that another Rohingya man died on Saturday in a different place.
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