Bangladesh: Massive Fire Guts Rohingya Camp In Kutupalong, Leaves Thousands Homeless

About 12,000 people, the majority of whom escaped violence in Myanmar, are estimated to have lost their homes.

Rohingya refugees search for their belongings after a fire broke out in Balukhali refugee camp in Ukhia. ( Image Source :AFP )

New Delhi: After a massive fire broke out in a crowded Rohingya refugee camp in the southeast of Bangladesh, thousands of people were left without a place to sleep and 2,000 shelters at a Rohingya refugee camp were destroyed, reported news agency AFP.

About 12,000 people, the majority of whom escaped violence in Myanmar, are estimated to have lost their homes.

There have been no reports of casualties, and the fire's cause is still unclear.

According to Bangladesh's refugee commissioner, Mijanur Rahman, the fire quickly consumed the bamboo-and-tarpaulin shelters at camp number 11 in Kutupalong, one of the largest refugee settlements in the world.

"Some 2,000 shelters have been burnt, leaving about 12,000 forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals shelterless," he told AFP news agency.

He also said that at least 35 mosques and 21 learning centers for refugees were destroyed, but no injuries or deaths were reported.

"My shelter was destroyed. (My shop) was also burnt," said Mamun Johar, a 30-year-old Rohingya man.

"The fire took everything from me, everything."

Within less than three hours, the fire was put out.

The cause of the fire was a mystery. An investigation has been ordered by the authorities.

In the camps where nearly a million Rohingya refugees live, fires are commonplace.

In 2017, most of them sought safety in Bangladesh after fleeing a military crackdown in the Rakhine state of Myanmar.

According to a report released by the Bangladeshi defense ministry earlier this month, there were 222 incidents of fire in the Rohingya camps between January 2021 and December 2022, with 60 instances of arson.

After a fire consumed an entire block in a settlement in March 2021, the worst fire in the Rohingya camps resulted in the deaths of at least 15 people and the displacement of approximately 50,000 people.