DHAKA: Saudi Arabia is constructing hundreds of shelters for Rohingya refugees affected by a massive fire that gutted one of the cramped camps in Cox’s Bazar, the Kingdom’s envoy in Dhaka announced this week.

Around 12,000 people lost their shelters when the fire broke out in Balukhali camp in March. The camp is part of the world’s largest refugee settlement, hosting 1.2 million Rohingya Muslims who fled violence and persecution in neighboring Myanmar.

“We will, inshallah, continue giving assistance and support to the Rohingya and the vulnerable communities here in Bangladesh,” Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Essa Al-Duhailan told reporters on Tuesday.

Through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, or KSrelief, the Kingdom has been supporting Rohingya refugees since the 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, which triggered their mass exodus to Bangladesh.

Al-Duhailan said Bangladesh is a priority for KSrelief, Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian arm, which runs over 44 projects worth about $600 million in the South Asian nation. Over $23 million has already been provided specifically for the Rohingya people, he added.

“This issue is one of the concerns … for Saudi Arabia — to repatriate, inshallah, the Rohingya minority to their homeland with dignity and security,” Al-Duhailan said.

Hundreds of shelters are being built in Cox’s Bazar and will be completed soon, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mizanur Rahman told Arab News.

“The reconstruction work of the 400 houses is underway with the assistance of a local non-governmental organization. The work is in its last stage now,” Rahman said.

“The Rohingya are now living mostly under tents inside the camp areas … It is a great help to ensure shelters for Rohingya affected by the fire.”

Saudi support for the Rohingya people was also welcomed by members of the community in Bangladesh.

“The Rohingya are happy with this initiative by KSrelief. Saudi Arabia has been helping us as much as they can,” Mohammed Jamal, a 28-year-old Rohingya man in Cox’s Bazar, told Arab News.

“I am grateful to the Kingdom authorities for not forgetting us in this crisis.”

Khin Maung, executive director of the Rohingya Youth Association, was also grateful for the Saudi assistance.

“We are thankful to Saudi Arabia for supporting this distressed community,” Maung told Arab News. “Saudi Arabia and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation provide great support for the Rohingya, especially in the international forum to ensure justice for the Rohingya genocide.”

But the fire victims and their families need more support, Maung said, as most are living in makeshift houses built with tarpaulin.

“The Muslim Ummah should unite here on the Rohingya issue, and they should come up with more support, not by statements but by actions.”