DHAKA: More than 12,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees have been left homeless due to a fire that swept through a camp at Cox’s Bazar in southeastern Bangladesh, the United Nations said.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said more than 2,000 shelters and over 90 facilities including hospitals and learning centers were destroyed in Sunday’s blaze. More than one million Rohingya refugees live in camps in Cox’s Bazar, most having fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017.
Bangladesh is investigating the cause of the fire, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammad Mizanur Rahman said. “Once we get the report, it will be clear whether it was an act of sabotage or not,” he added.
Fires often break out in the crowded camp with its makeshift structures. A massive blaze in March 2021 killed at least 15 refugees and destroyed over 10,000 homes.
Resident Shafiur Rahman, 24, urged the authorities to provide better facilities. “Our homes were torched in Myanmar. Now we are going through the same here,” he said.
Amnesty International also called on the Bangladesh government to provide safer accommodation for the refugees.
“The government should recognize the danger of keeping large communities in unsafe, over-crowded conditions and take steps to provide adequate and safe housing to the Rohingya community,” Yasasmin Kaviratne, the organization’s South Asia regional campaigner said.
Rising crime, difficult living conditions and bleak prospects for returning to Myanmar are driving more Rohingya refugees to leave Bangladesh for countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia by boat, putting their lives at risk. UN data shows 348 Rohingya are thought to have died at sea last year.
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Thousands of Rohingya refugees homeless after Bangladesh camp fire -UN
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Thousands of Rohingya refugees homeless after Bangladesh camp fire -UN
China protests over Philippine coast guard’s Xi images
MANILA: The Chinese Embassy in Manila said Friday it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of President Xi Jinping.
Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea.
The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels.
Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a speech, with a background featuring a compilation of comical images of Xi under the banner “Why China remains to be bully?“
On Friday, the embassy slammed the post for “attacking and smearing Chinese leaders” in a statement it released.
The move “constitutes a serious violation of China’s political dignity,” the embassy said adding that it is a “blatant political provocation, which has crossed the red line.”
The embassy expressed “strong indignation” to the presidential palace, foreign affairs department and coast guard demanding an explanation for Tarriela’s “malicious provocations.”
In response, Tarriela Friday branded the protest “an attempt to deflect from the core issue: China’s repeated aggressive and illegal actions in the West Philippine Sea,” using the Filipino term for the waters immediately west of the country.
“If the Chinese Embassy objects to images or expressions that highlight these violations — often through legitimate public discourse or even satire — it only underscores discomfort with the truth being exposed,” Tarriela said, calling the response an “effort to intimidate.”
Manila’s presidential palace and Department of Foreign Affairs have yet to answer AFP’s request for comment.
Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea.
The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels.
Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a speech, with a background featuring a compilation of comical images of Xi under the banner “Why China remains to be bully?“
On Friday, the embassy slammed the post for “attacking and smearing Chinese leaders” in a statement it released.
The move “constitutes a serious violation of China’s political dignity,” the embassy said adding that it is a “blatant political provocation, which has crossed the red line.”
The embassy expressed “strong indignation” to the presidential palace, foreign affairs department and coast guard demanding an explanation for Tarriela’s “malicious provocations.”
In response, Tarriela Friday branded the protest “an attempt to deflect from the core issue: China’s repeated aggressive and illegal actions in the West Philippine Sea,” using the Filipino term for the waters immediately west of the country.
“If the Chinese Embassy objects to images or expressions that highlight these violations — often through legitimate public discourse or even satire — it only underscores discomfort with the truth being exposed,” Tarriela said, calling the response an “effort to intimidate.”
Manila’s presidential palace and Department of Foreign Affairs have yet to answer AFP’s request for comment.
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