Mohammad Ali Jinnat

On a quest to change his fortune, Salamat Ullah left his home in Teknaf for Malaysia in October last year.

Crimes, particularly those related to narcotics and murders, have witnessed a significant rise inside the Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camps over the last seven months.

The EU will continue to support the Rohingya people for their right to return to their homeland, said Eamon Gilmore, the EU’s special representative for human rights.

Amid mounting global pressure, a 17-member Myanmar delegation yesterday started verifying the identities of the Rohingya refugees in Teknaf, as the first group of Myanmar’s displaced people is expected to be repatriated in a few months.

Amid the armed conflicts along the border over the last two months, gang members living in the no-man’s-land entered Bangladesh and engaged in criminal activities, including murders, at the refugee camps, police and locals said.

Panic grips the locals in bordering areas of Cox’s Bazar’s Whaikhyang and Bandarban’s Tambru, as heavy gunfire and intermittent shelling on the Myanmar side have been heard again after a pause of 10 days.

As firing and mortar shelling in Myanmar were now heard from Ukhiya border of Cox’s Bazar yesterday, the local authorities warned the boat owners of not carrying Rohingyas amid fear of their fresh entry.

Amid incessant gunfire and mortar shelling in Myanmar close to the Bangladesh border, the local administration is planning to evacuate around 300 families in Ghumdhum union of Bandarban’s Naikhongchhari upazila. 

Five years ago, they were the first to welcome with open arms the thousands of Rohingyas fleeing persecution in Myanmar, setting an example of how compassionate our society is here in Bangladesh.

For Shamsul Ahmed, life in the Rohingya refugee camp is now much better than it was five years ago, but his heart longs for home. 

His popularity among Rohingya community and stance against all kinds of crimes and irregularities inside the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar triggered the grisly murder of Mohib Ullah, said the charge sheet submitted after an eight-month investigation.

Police today pressed charges against 29 Rohingyas in a case filed over the grisly murder of Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah.

Defying the government’s directives, a large number of tourists regularly visit Chera Dwip, the southernmost island of Bangladesh.

About four months before his assasination, Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah’s organisation took an initiative to form repatriation committees in every refugee camp to facilitate the return of the refugees.

Life in Lambashia Rohingya camp in Ukhia appeared normal. People roaming here and there. Grocers busy with customers. Kids playing on the street. Youths gossiping and watching videos on their smartphones.

Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah came home in Lambashia camp in Ukhia after his Esha prayers on Wednesday night. His wife, Nasima, asked him whether he wanted to eat something.

Fear, frustration, and anger gripped refugees in Cox’s Bazar as the identity of the gunmen and their motive behind killing Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah remain unknown.

Chancing upon tourists horseback riding along the beaches of Cox’s Bazar would have been a common sight during the bustling tourist season. But not anymore.

A second whale carcass washed ashore at Himchhari beach of Cox’s Bazar yesterday.

Fleeing a crackdown by the Myanmar military, 35-year-old Chubera Begum, along with her four children, arrived in Ukhiya from Rakhine State in August, 2017. She then found shelter in a tent at Balukhali camp, the largest refugee camp in the world.