15 ARSA members took part in murder of Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah: RAB

As many as 15 members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army took part in the 2021 murder of Rohingya civilian leader Mohammad Mohib Ullah, who was shot dead in Cox’s Bazar, the Rapid Action Battalion said.

“More than 15 members, led by ARSA chief Ataullah Jununi, carried out the murder,” RAB spokesman Commander Khandaker Al Moin said at a media briefing in Cox’s Bazar on Monday, a day after the arrest of the insurgent group’s local head Noor Kamal.

“Kamal assigned the different responsibilities to the ARSA members two days before the murder. He was among three people who first stormed into Mohib Ullah’s office to kill him. He opened fire on the Rohingya leader first.”

The RAB arrested Kamal alias Somi Uddin, 48, a resident of the Balukhali-7 Camp, during a raid at Kutupalong Camp in Ukhiya Upazila on Monday. In addition to the murder, he was named in more than 15 cases over abduction and arms charges.

He is also involved in the murder of an intelligence officer during a joint anti-drug and smuggling operation on the Ghumdhum border in Bandarban’s Naikhongchhari Upazila in November 2022. He is involved in the murder of six Rohingya community leaders and two others named Shofiq, Jasim, Selim, Noor Boshar, Salam, Kalaboda, Solim, Rohimulla and Khaled, Moin said.

The arrestee has regular contact with the armed insurgent group, he added.

The law enforcers recovered several arms and ammunition during the raid to arrest Kamal. He will be named in a separate case over these weapons, according to the RAB.

A group of unidentified gunmen killed Rohingya leader Mohammad Mohib Ullah at a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar's Ukhiya on Sept 29, 2021. Known as Master Mohib Ullah, the Rohingya leader, who was in his late 40s, had been serving as the chairman of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights.

Police pressed charges against 29 people over the murder of Mohib Ullah, including some ARSA members, in 2022.