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Published : 08 Mar 2023, 11:39 PM
Sheikh Hasina has highlighted the conflicts among the Myanmar Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh, reiterating her concerns over regional security.
The prime minister shed light on the crisis in an interview with Al Jazeera during her visit to Qatar to attend the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Doha, state news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported on Wednesday.
"Actually the situation in the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar is not very good,” she remarked, while speaking about living conditions in the camps where a recent fire left more than 12,000 refugees without shelter.
Police have detained a Rohingya man as part of an investigation to determine whether it was an accident or an act of sabotage.
On Wednesday, a Rohingya community leader was shot dead in a camp – the second such murder in a week as conflicts between refugee groups over control of the camps continue.
“They [Rohingyas] are fighting each other. They engage in different types of activities that include drugs, arms and human trafficking. They have conflicts among themselves," Hasina said.
Al Jazeera journalist Nick Clarke interviewed Hasina and a video excerpt of the interview has already been broadcast. The full interview is scheduled to be broadcast on Al Jazeera at 10:30am next Saturday.
During the interview, Hasina said the war in Ukraine and its refugees have attracted global attention, shifting the focus from the Rohingya crisis, which made the situation more difficult for Bangladesh.
She alleged Myanmar is not positive about bringing their nationals back to their country despite Bangladesh engaging in talks to settle the issue.
Hasina recalled the circumstances under which Bangladesh sheltered the Rohingya, subjected to torture, murder and rape in Myanmar. “We started talking to Myanmar also.”
“Unfortunately, they [Myanmar] are not responding positively. These people [Rohingya] should go back to their own land."
