ARSA member shot dead by unidentified assailants in Rohingya camp

A member of the Myanmar-based armed group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) was shot dead by unidentified miscreants over a dispute to establish dominance at a Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhiya early today (30 July).

The incident took place at around 3:30am in Block H-29 of Balukhali 8-West Rohingya Camp in Ukhiya, according to Mohammad Siraj Amin, additional deputy inspector general (ADIG) and commander of the 14 Armed Police Battalion (APBn).

The deceased, Md Zubair, 34, was the son of Rahmat Ullah of Block H-29 of the camp.

Quoting local residents, Siraj Amin said Zubair had left his house and was heading to a nearby mosque when he came in front of a house belonging to one Ibrahim. At that point, a group of unidentified assailants opened fire on him, shooting him five times before fleeing the scene.

Locals rescued Zubair in a critical condition and took him to the MSF Hospital in Kutupalong, where he died on the way, he added.

Police have yet to determine who was behind the killing or establish a motive. However, preliminary information suggests the murder may have been linked to ongoing turf wars between Myanmar-based armed groups operating in the camps or internal factional disputes among them, said the APBn official.

He said members of the ARSA and the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) have long been involved in violent rivalries over dominance within the camps.

Police have launched an investigation and are continuing efforts to identify and arrest those involved in the killing, Siraj Amin said.

The body has been sent to the Cox’s Bazar District Sadar Hospital morgue for an autopsy, added the APBn official.