DHAKA: “We cannot sleep at night, fearing a wild elephant attack,” said Mohammad Ali Johar, 47, a refugee living in Bangladesh’s Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp with his six-member family.
“I have seen several elephant attacks in the past five months,” he told Arab News.
The Asian elephants of this region have been declared as critically endangered species, a situation made worse when their habitat was occupied by a refugee influx that began in September last year. The elephants’ natural movement corridor was disrupted by makeshift houses and the forests were chopped down for firewood, resulting in clashes between man and animal as the elephants left the forest in search of food.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are collaborating to save human lives as well as the elephants.
Elephant attacks forced the IUCN to carry out field research in 70 square kilometers of hill country in January. About 45 elephants were found to be active in the area.
“We have already formed 17 elephant response teams and will increase this number to 25 in the next two weeks,” IUCN Country Manager Rakibul Amin said.
“In the past 10 days, we have managed to control two elephant attacks without any casualties. The team members call us if an elephant is sighted near the camp area and we take instant measures to address the situation.”
The IUCN is consulting with elephant experts to create an elephant corridor so that the animals can travel safely on their migratory routes and avoid people living nearby.
In addition, the IUCN will build watchtowers near the camps to monitor elephant movement around the refugee areas.
“This Rohingya refugee settlement area stands on the main migratory route of the elephants between Bangladesh and Myanmar. These elephants have been using this same route for generations. If the animals find their corridor blocked, it makes them hostile. It is only at this time that the elephant becomes aggressive enough to uproot the obstacles,” said Ali Kabir, the divisional forest officer of Cox’s Bazar district in southeast Bangladesh.
Elephants need around 200 kg of food a day. Damage to forests by refugee settlements has resulted in food scarcity, forcing the animals to leave the jungle and encounter human beings.
“This partnership with IUCN is not only important to save the elephants but also for the refugees, some of whom have lost their lives in attacks,” said Kevin Allen, UNHCR’s head of emergency response at Cox’s Bazar.
The UNHCR and IUCN plan to educate refugees and host communities about the importance of environmental resources.
At least 10 Rohingya refugees have died in elephant attacks in the past six months and more have been severely injured. The crowded refugee camp areas of Balukhali and Kutupalong are now home to 560,000 Rohingyas.
Elephant attacks in Bangladesh leave Rohingya refugees fearing for their lives
Elephant attacks in Bangladesh leave Rohingya refugees fearing for their lives
Terror at Friday prayers: Witnesses describe blast rocking Islamabad mosque
- The Daesh group has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist communications
ISLAMABAD: A worshipper at the Shiite mosque in Islamabad where dozens of people were killed in a suicide blast on Friday described an “extremely powerful” explosion ripping through the building just after prayers started.
Muhammad Kazim, 52, told AFP he arrived at the Imam Bargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra mosque shortly after 1:00 p.m. (0800 GMT) on Friday and took up a place around seven or eight rows from the Imam.
“During the first bow of the Namaz (prayer ritual), we heard gunfire,” he told AFP outside the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital, where many of the wounded were brought for treatment.
“And while we were still in the bowing position, an explosion occurred,” he said.
Kazim, who is from Gilgit-Baltistan in northern Pakistan and lives in Islamabad, escaped unharmed, but accompanied his wounded friend to the PIMS hospital for treatment.
“It was unclear whether it was a suicide bombing, but the explosion was extremely powerful and caused numerous casualties,” Kazim said.
“Debris fell from the roof, and windows were shattered,” he added. “When I got outside, many bodies were scattered... Many people lost their lives.”
The Daesh group has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist communications.
Another worshipper, Imran Mahmood, described a gunfight between the suicide bomber, a possible accomplice and volunteer security personnel at the mosque.
“The suicide attacker was trying to move forward, but one of our injured volunteers fired at him from behind, hitting him in the thigh,” Mahmood, in his fifties, told AFP.
“He fell but got up again. Another man accompanying him opened fire on our volunteers,” he said, adding the attacker “then jumped onto the gate and detonated the explosives.”
As of Saturday morning, the death toll stood at 31, with at least 169 wounded.
The attack was the deadliest in the Pakistani capital since September 2008, when 60 people were killed in a suicide truck bomb blast that destroyed part of the five-star Marriott hotel.
Lax security
Describing the aftermath of the attack, Kazim said unhurt worshippers went to the aid of those wounded.
“People tried to help on their own, carrying two or three bodies in the trunks of their vehicles, while ambulances arrived about 20 to 25 minutes later,” he told AFP.
“No one was allowed near the mosque afterwards.”
Kazim, who has performed Friday prayers at the mosque “for the past three to four weeks,” said security had been lax.
“I have never seen proper security in place,” he told AFP.
“Volunteers manage security on their own, but they lack the necessary equipment to do it effectively,” he said.
“Shiite mosques are always under threat, and the government should take this seriously and provide adequate security,” he added.
