Thousands homeless after fires in Bangladesh

Around 4,000 people from the Rohingya ethnic group are homeless after a suspected fire ravaged a refugee camp in Bangladesh.

Close to 800 temporary shelters were ravaged by fire in the overcrowded refugee camp, where the simple homes are built of bamboo and tarpaulin. Almost all of these were completely destroyed in the fire. In addition, two mosques and five educational centers were destroyed.

No one was killed and the fire is said to be under control.

– We have requested an investigation and suspect that it is arson, says the head of the refugee camp, Mizanur Rahman.

The Rohingya Muslim ethnic group is oppressed in Myanmar, and they are sometimes described as the world’s most persecuted ethnic group and a stateless people. One million Rohingya live in Bangladesh, many of whom fled the country in 2017 when Myanmar’s military carried out a major crackdown.

The Kutupalong refugee camp near the city of Cox’s Bazar in the south-east of the country is the largest in Bangladesh.