Fire at Muslim refugee camp in Bangladesh leaves thousands homeless

By Admin 06 Mar 2023

DMG Newsroom
6 March 2023, Sittwe

A massive fire at the Balukhali refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, left thousands of refugees homeless on Sunday as more than 2,000 houses were burnt in the blaze.

According to the Bangladesh office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 2,000 houses were destroyed by the fire, which affected some 12,000 people. Some 90 other buildings including healthcare and learning facilities were burnt, it said.

More than 30,000 Muslims from over 7,000 households are taking refuge at the Balukhali refugee camp. 

“The fire broke out around 2 p.m., and was put out around 5 p.m. More than 2,000 houses were burnt, and over 12,000 people were affected by the fire. More than 200 people including children are missing,” said a Muslim from the neighbouring Kutupalong refugee camp who went to see the fire.

The fire victims are staying in makeshift tents built of tarpaulin sheets and need food supplies, he added.

More than 700,000 Muslims fled to neighbouring Bangladesh when the Myanmar military carried out “clearance operations” following the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army’s attacks on several police outposts in 2017. 

The United Nations’ human rights chief at the time described the military’s actions as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing,” while others in the international community have called it genocide, including Bangladesh’s former foreign minister and the US secretary of state.