Arakan News Agency
Bangladeshi authorities have categorically denied allegations of armed activity inside Rohingya refugee camps in the Cox’s Bazar area, in response to a report issued by the Brussels-based “International Crisis Group.”
The authorities affirmed that the report’s claims regarding the readiness of Rohingya armed factions for a possible military confrontation with the Arakan Army in Myanmar are baseless, according to what was reported by the “Dhaka Tribune” on Thursday.
Officials overseeing the camps clarified that no such activities have been recorded, stressing that the camps are under strict surveillance and that law enforcement agencies conduct round-the-clock patrols.
The Bangladeshi Commissioner for Refugee Relief and Repatriation, Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, said that the report’s allegations are incorrect, emphasizing that there is no evidence of any armed groups conducting training or recruitment inside the camps.
Mizanur Rahman described the report as “misleading,” stressing that security forces continuously monitor the camps, adding: “Such activities happening under our watch is impossible.”
Bangladesh hosts more than one million Rohingya refugees in the Cox’s Bazar camps, which the United Nations classifies as the largest refugee camp in the world. The refugees have been living there under difficult humanitarian conditions since fleeing Myanmar in 2017, following the genocide campaign launched against them by the Myanmar army. New waves of displacement have also been reported since late 2023, following the outbreak of fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army, which now controls large parts of Arakan State.
