Rohingya camp leader ‘shot and hacked to death’ in Cox’s Bazar Ukhiya

Dozens of assailants wearing masks took him outside at gunpoint and attacked him with a gun and sharp weapons around midnight, police say

Dozens of attackers have shot and hacked a Rohingya community leader to death over a power struggle in Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhiya Upazila, according to police.

The incident occurred at Block-C/3 of Rohingya Camp No. 9 in Balukhali around 1 pm on Tuesday, said Ukhiya Police Station chief Sheikh Mohammad Ali.

The victim has been identified as Md Noor Habi aka Doctor Wakkesh, 51, a resident of the block. He had been working as a Majhi (Rohingya camp leader) at Camp No. 9.

“Habi was sleeping at home when dozens of masked men took him outside at gunpoint and attacked him with a gun and sharp weapons. The criminals fled before the law enforcers arrived at the scene,” Ali said, citing locals.

The Armed Police Battalion and Ukhiya police rushed him to a local International Organisation of Migration (IOM) hospital, where a doctor declared him dead.

Law enforcers could not confirm the motive behind the murder. A preliminary investigation suggests a power struggle in the area led to the killing.

The body of the victim has been sent to Cox’s Bazar District Sadar Hospital morgue for an autopsy. Police have launched efforts to identify and seize the killers, Ali said.