Bangladeshi Rohingya refugee camp burns, displacing thousands.
March 5, 2023Tweet
(CNN) βΈ» A massive fire has ripped through a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh's southern district of Cox's Bazar on Sunday, leaving around 12,000 people homeless. The blaze gutted around 2,000 huts before it was brought under control, and no casualties have been reported so far. Authorities are working with international and local humanitarian organizations to provide food and temporary shelters to those affected. Ninety facilities including hospitals and learning centers were burnt down, and the Bangladesh branch of the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR tweeted that Rohingya refugee volunteers trained on firefighting and local fire services have controlled the fire. The UN's International Organization of Migration (IOM) in Bangladesh said they are assessing the needs of people to provide support.
Sunday's fire marks one of the largest of several fires that have plagued the camp in recent years. An estimated 1 million members of the stateless Muslim minority Rohingya live in the camp after fleeing a brutal campaign of killing and arson by the Myanmar military.
Bangladeshi Camp-burns Cox's-bazar