Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh: Bangladesh Police has arrested at least 450 . detained Rohingya Officials said on Thursday that the refugees celebrated the Muslim festival of Eid at a popular beach.
around 920,000 mostly Muslim Rohingya refugee Bangladesh has been banned from leaving the barbed wire camps in the southeast where they have been stranded for years.
Most fled to Bangladesh after military attacks in neighboring countries myanmar In 2017 the United States designated March as a genocide.
In recent months, he says Bangladeshi authorities have faced more hardship in the camps with bulldozers to their nearly 3,000 shops and dozens of private community schools.
police spokesman Rafikul Islam Authorities raided Cox’s Bazar town late Wednesday, the second day of the Eid holiday, he told AFP.
They “detained more than 450 Rohingyas” at one of the world’s largest beaches, he said.
Islam said the raids were part of “security measures” in the country’s largest resort district, Cox’s Bazar, which attracts millions of tourists during the holiday season, including Eid-ul-Fitr.
“The Rohingya are involved in various crimes. It is unsafe for our tourists. We have strengthened the security of the city. As tourists visit Cox’s Bazar on Eid-ul-Fitr, we have increased patrols to keep them safe,” he said. given.”
Islam said the detained Rohingya included refugees under the age of 13.
Many of those detained told AFP at a police station in Cox’s Bazar that they had gone to the beach for Eid celebrations.
Mohammad Ibrahim said, “We are here for fun… But as soon as we arrived, the police caught us. We didn’t do anything wrong, we just sat on the beach.”
A 20-year-old woman named Samjeeda said it was her first visit to Cox’s Bazar beach.
“My husband and I were picked up by the police. My kids are hungry. They haven’t eaten for the whole day,” she told AFP.
Bangladesh’s Deputy Refugee Commissioner Shamsud Dauza said the Rohingyas would be sent back to their camps.
The main beach in Cox’s Bazar is about 40 kilometers (25 mi) from the refugee settlements.
Similar to the dialect spoken in Chittagong in southeast Bangladesh, the Rohingya are detested by many in Myanmar, who see them as illegal immigrants and refer to them as “Bengali”.
They have refused to return until they are assured of safety and equal rights, hence are trapped in piles of bamboo and wire without work, poor sanitation and little education for their children.
The camps have seen an increase in violence which has been attributed to Arakan Rohingya Salvation ArmyA rebel group fighting the Myanmar military, but also believed to be behind a wave of killings and drug trafficking.
around 920,000 mostly Muslim Rohingya refugee Bangladesh has been banned from leaving the barbed wire camps in the southeast where they have been stranded for years.
Most fled to Bangladesh after military attacks in neighboring countries myanmar In 2017 the United States designated March as a genocide.
In recent months, he says Bangladeshi authorities have faced more hardship in the camps with bulldozers to their nearly 3,000 shops and dozens of private community schools.
police spokesman Rafikul Islam Authorities raided Cox’s Bazar town late Wednesday, the second day of the Eid holiday, he told AFP.
They “detained more than 450 Rohingyas” at one of the world’s largest beaches, he said.
Islam said the raids were part of “security measures” in the country’s largest resort district, Cox’s Bazar, which attracts millions of tourists during the holiday season, including Eid-ul-Fitr.
“The Rohingya are involved in various crimes. It is unsafe for our tourists. We have strengthened the security of the city. As tourists visit Cox’s Bazar on Eid-ul-Fitr, we have increased patrols to keep them safe,” he said. given.”
Islam said the detained Rohingya included refugees under the age of 13.
Many of those detained told AFP at a police station in Cox’s Bazar that they had gone to the beach for Eid celebrations.
Mohammad Ibrahim said, “We are here for fun… But as soon as we arrived, the police caught us. We didn’t do anything wrong, we just sat on the beach.”
A 20-year-old woman named Samjeeda said it was her first visit to Cox’s Bazar beach.
“My husband and I were picked up by the police. My kids are hungry. They haven’t eaten for the whole day,” she told AFP.
Bangladesh’s Deputy Refugee Commissioner Shamsud Dauza said the Rohingyas would be sent back to their camps.
The main beach in Cox’s Bazar is about 40 kilometers (25 mi) from the refugee settlements.
Similar to the dialect spoken in Chittagong in southeast Bangladesh, the Rohingya are detested by many in Myanmar, who see them as illegal immigrants and refer to them as “Bengali”.
They have refused to return until they are assured of safety and equal rights, hence are trapped in piles of bamboo and wire without work, poor sanitation and little education for their children.
The camps have seen an increase in violence which has been attributed to Arakan Rohingya Salvation ArmyA rebel group fighting the Myanmar military, but also believed to be behind a wave of killings and drug trafficking.