Rohingya crisis is becoming a protracted one without any hope of repatriation of the Rohingyas to Myanmar. The pilot project taken by Myanmar with the initiative of China could not be materialized due to the ongoing conflicting situation in Myanmar. As the conflict between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar Army escalates in Maungdaw suburb of Rakhine state, there are fears of another large Rohingya influx inside Bangladesh. Thousands of Rohingya have left their homes in Rakhine State of Myanmar and sought refuge beside the Naf River bordering Bangladesh. About 40,000 Rohingyas are waiting to cross into Bangladesh in different areas of Maungdaw suburb of Rakhine. Both AA and Myanmar Army failed to protect this minority group during this conflict. More number of Rohingyas beconing homeless and the trend is rising. Rohingyas fell that this strategy is adopted to eliminate the remaining Rohingya population from Rakhine. Bangladesh was always positive and maintained good neighborly relationship with Myanmar despite ongoing Rohingya crisis. Many feel that the change in government and the present situations in Bangladesh allowed Myanmar to intensify its attacks on Rohingyas, which is undesirable.
The chairman of the Rohingya rights organization ‘Arakan Society for Peace and Human Rights’ believes that the Rohingyas are being exterminated in the conflict between the AA and the Myanmar Army in Rakhine State and that the international community needs strong intervention to stop this conflict. The Rohingyas want the cooperation of the new government in Bangladesh and believe that political stability in Bangladesh will make it easier for them to garner international support.
The area bordering Bangladesh-Myanmar is currently under the control of AA. Inside Rakhine both Rohingya and Rakhine people are suffering due to lack of humanitarian support and aid. The restrictions imposed by Myanmar government to different aid agencies locals are being denied essential aid. Common people are suffering from the shortage of food and other essential commodity in conflict prone areas. The junta government is not allowing the Humanitarian agencies to carry out their operations in the areas control by AA. AA stated that it will support aid agencies if they get direct relief from Bangladesh.
In a statement on August 19, the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M), a relief agency made up of former UN officials, called on the government of Bangladesh, they want to work with the government to open a humanitarian corridor in Rakhine state and allow aid to be delivered to all ethnic and religious communities in Rakhine. The tendency of Rohingyas to enter Bangladesh may be halted by establishing a Safe Zone inside Rakhine in regions controlled by AA and supported by the international community. Arrangements should be taken to temporarily keep the Rohingyas secure. By establishing a humanitarian corridor and allowing international aid agencies to assist the distressed people, the Rohingyas’ agony and propensity to seek sanctuary within Bangladesh will be alleviated.
Many Rohingyas are being caught by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) while entering Bangladesh. BGB used to send these Rohingyas back again to Myanmar. Despite all the measured taken by the border security about 18,000 Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh since June 2024. It is known that the brokers are helping many Rohingyas to infiltrate in exchange of money. The BGB has been contending Rohingya infiltration along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border and has increased monitoring to ensure that no criminals cross the border. Rohingya infiltrators have already been listed in camps, and the process is ongoing.
Currently, there is increased instability in the Rohingya camps. Members of the Arakan Salvation Army (ARSA) and the Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) have engaged in fighting, shooting, and causing disturbance in order to maintain their control over the camps. According to local Rohingyas, these shootings are taking place to extort money from freshly arriving Rohingyas from Myanmar.
To put an end to these occurrences, ordinary Rohingyas demonstrated in the camp and urged everyone to reject RSO’s unlawful actions. More than 14 Rohingya terrorist groups are active within the camps. Members of these gangs typically infiltrate the camp after nightfall and conduct terrorist actions.
As the security situation inside the camps deteriorates, NGOs-INGOs responsible for distributing relief and humanitarian assistance have ceased operations. Along with ordinary Rohingyas, staffs from various organizations operating in the camp face insecurity. Additional APBN personnel have been dispatched to handle the situation within the Rohingya camp. Security analysts have voiced alarm about the situation and urged tough steps to regulate the camps.
Terrorism and criminal activity are on the rise in Rohingya camps as repatriation delays continue. By being linked with drug trafficking, smuggling, and other illegal activities, the Rohingyas impose strain on themselves and Bangladesh’s security situation. The Rohingyas, who have been in Bangladesh for a long time, are becoming involved in the arms and narcotics trade and have amassed a stockpile of illicit firearms within the camps.
The Rohingya camps are currently a source of worry for a variety of reasons, including drug and weapons trafficking and security risks. Approximately 10,000 Rohingya are participating in these terrorist actions. In the previous seven years, 3 thousand 776 persons have been charged in 2 thousand 479 drug cases, and 856 in 409 weapons charges. Between June 2022 and June 2024, 246 Rohingyas were slain in Rohingya camps. In these occurrences, 233 charges have been filed, 1,723 persons have been charged, and 245 terrorists have been apprehended. From August 2017 to July 2024, there were 3832 incidents involving Rohingya camps in 11 different categories of crimes. The frequency of these occurrences demonstrates the prevalence of criminality in the camps. Many of those identified were unable to be prosecuted because the population density of the camps was high, making it easy for miscreants to hide in these densely inhabited camps and nearby regions. The infiltration of additional Rohingyas will increase the population density of the camps and pose a fresh security threat.
To guarantee camp safety and security, collaboration is required to move Rohingyas from existing camps, therefore reducing population density. If the world community responds promptly to this endeavor, the situation will be fairly manageable. To reduce the influence of Rohingya terrorist organizations, law enforcement forces must execute special operations to regulate the camp situation.
The Interim Government of Bangladesh has informed the world community about the problem and hopes for support from the United Nations, the international community and friendly countries in resolving it. In the current scenario, the Rohingyas’ security in Rakhine must be assured, as well as border security to prevent Rohingya incursion. Since 2017, no significant steps have been implemented to guarantee Rohingya acceptance in Rakhine. The AA, NUG, and Myanmar government should take immediate measures to create an acceptable environment for Rohingyas in Rakhine, as advocated by the UN and international community.
This long-standing problem in Bangladesh puts pressure on the country’s security, ecology, and other challenges. Bangladesh has effectively raised public awareness of the issue and continues to do so on a global scale. Bangladesh has attempted to handle this situation diplomatically and through the international court procedure, but results has yet to be seen. In the next days, efforts should be made to find a lasting solution by creating a commission and implementing multifaceted procedures within a framework to solve the problem and progress the process.
Cooperation from international community and regional countries is needed to create a Safe Zone in Rakhine for the safety of Rohingyas inside Myanmar and to stop Rohingya infiltration inside Bangladesh. The establishment of ‘Safe Zone’ and ‘Humanitarian Corridor’ for providing relief and other assistance to the distressed Rakhine and Rohingya should be seriously considered by the UN, regional countries and international community.
[Photo by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, via Wikimedia Commons]
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
Brig Gen (Retd) Hasan Md Shamsuddin, ndc, afwc, psc, MPhil, is a researcher on Myanmar, Rohingya and ASEAN affairs.
