Rohingya Refugee Killed in Fighting between Bangladesh Army and Chakma Rebels

Rohingya Today | December 26, 2018

Cox's Bazaar – A Rohingya refugee working as a day labourer in a road construction project was killed in fighting between Bangladesh's army and Chakma separatist rebels in Bangladesh on Sunday (Dec 23), sources report.

A clash broke out between the Bangladesh army and the Chakma rebels in the forest in Khagrachari area, Bandarban district, around on Dec 23 morning and the labourers working in a private road construction project in the area got stuck in the fighting.

One shot of bullet pierced through the shoulder of a Rohingya refugee working there and killed him soon after that. He was then taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital for postmortem and handed over to his relatives for funerals on Tuesday (Dec 25).

He was identified as Mohammed Zubair, 23, (son of) Abdu Rahim from Held Shed No: 69, Room No: 01, Kutupalang registered refugee camp, Bangladesh.

"The Bangladesh authorities identified him using a phone number written on a paper found in his pocket. They called the number and handed his body over to his relatives," said Mohammed Amin, a registered Refugee in the camps.

He was given funeral at a football field nearby the Kutupalong registeted refugee camps about 11pm on the same day (i.e. Tuesday).

Also known as Shanti Bahini is a Chakma Buddhist rebel group, the armed-wing of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts), fighting for an autonomous/ independent region in Chittagong hilltracts. Chakma is a Buddhist minority group living both in Myanmar and in Bangladesh. They consider themselves distinct from other Buddhist groups (including Rakhine) in Bangladesh, and in Myanmar, are known as 'Dinet' considered as a sub-group of wider Rakhine Buddhist groups.

[Reported by Ahmed Karim; Edited by M.S. Anwar]

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