Fourth Rohingya refugee killed in Bangladesh

A fourth Rohingya refugee has been shot dead while he was in police custody during an operation in southeastern Bangladesh.

According to police, the refugee was 36-year-old Nur Mohammad, who had allegedly been  a Rohingya gang leader who arrived in Bangladesh in 1992 and was operating in the hills around the refugee camps.

There has been an outbreak of violence in recent weeks at refugee camps in southeast Bangladesh, where nearly one million Rohingya live after fleeing crackdowns in Myanmar.

At least five Rohingya men have died in clashes in the settlements — allegedly over gang violence — while an Awami League official was shot in the head in late August at Jadimura camp in the border town of Teknaf.

Law enforcement forces blamed Faruk’s death on Rohingya “hitmen,” and have shot dead three refugees over the past week in connection with the incident.

Hundreds of enraged locals living near Jadimura camp stormed the settlement after Faruk’s murder, looting and vandalising scores of Rohingya shops and houses.

With Mohammad’s death, at least 34 Rohingya have been killed by Bangladeshi security forces since the 2017 exodus, according to police.