Joint patrol at Rohingya camps to continue
Law enforcement agencies conducted a joint patrol in the Rohingya camps of Cox's Bazar yesterday as incidents of crimes, particularly those related to narcotics and murders, increased over the last seven months.
More than 450 members of APBn, Rab, Police, BGB, and Ansar participated in the three-hour patrol out in different blocks of Balukhali 8 West Refugee Camp in Ukhiya upazila.
The first of such an exercise at the camps did not result in any arrests or seizures of narcotics or arms. These patrols will, however, be conducted regularly from now on, said Additional Deputy Inspector General Mohammad Iqbal, commander of 14 APBn.
The safety and security in the camp have deteriorated significantly in recent months since Myanmar-based armed groups Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) and Arakan Solidarity Organisation (RSO) started engaging in violence to establish dominance over the control of narcotics and arms trade inside the camps, Rohingya leaders said.
Apart from ARSA and RSO, other criminal groups, including the Nobi Hossain Group, Munna Group, Dakat Hakim Group, Dakat Saleh Group, and Islamic Mahas Group, are also reportedly active in the camps, they added.
Some robbery, trafficking, and abduction gangs are also active in Ukhiya and Teknaf camps that have now become crime havens, leaders also said.
Since the Rohingya influx began on August 25, 2017, a total of 3,020 criminal cases, including 131 murder cases, were filed against 6,837 Rohingyas till August 21 this year, for 11 types of offences, including drug trade, arms smuggling, rape, and abduction, according to district police data.
According to media reports, at least 33 Rohingya community leaders, locally known as Majhi, have died this year alone at the hands of the two-armed groups.
Earlier on May 23, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan in a meeting of the National Committee on Coordinating, Managing, and Maintaining Law and Order for Rohingyas, announced that a joint operation would be conducted soon to seize arms and drugs and prevent terrorist activities in the camps.
If necessary, the army would also be involved in this operation, he added.
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