Rohingya militants accused of war crimes in Bangladesh camps

Rohingya militant groups have killed, abducted, and tortured Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh in acts that may amount to war crimes, according to a new report by the civil society group Fortify Rights published on Tuesday.The 78-page report, titled “I May Be Killed Any Moment”, details years of violence targeting refugees in Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, documenting a surge in violence since the 2021 assassination of prominent Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah. Fortify Rights believes that some crimes committed in the Bangladeshi camps are connected to the ongoing armed conflict in Myanmar, classifying them as potential war crimes.“There are reasonable grounds to believe that certain acts committed by Rohingya armed groups, including ARSA against Rohingya civilians in refugee camps in Bangladesh constitute war crimes,” Fortify Rights director John Quinley told Myanmar Now.“This is due to a nexus between the criminal acts in Bangladesh and the ongoing conflict in Myanmar.”The report highlights repeated attacks by Rohingya militant groups including the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO). The document also examines the broader risks faced by Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, where a lack of security has allowed militants to operate with impunity.Fortify Rights stressed that donor governments should increase funding to ensure Rohingya refugees have access to protection, secure spaces, and more options for third-country resettlement.Yet the increase of violence in recent years has left survivors traumatised and fearful. Ata Ullah (front, centre right in grey shirt), the notorious leader of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, was arrested by Bangladeshi police on Tuesday and faces charges for attacking police stations in Rakhine State in 2017 as well as for alleged killings, abductions, and forcible recruitment (Photo: Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army/Facebook). ‘A scourge on the Rohingya community’On the same day the report was released, Bangladeshi authorities arrested Atta Ullha, the notorious leader of ARSA. He faces charges for attacking police stations in Rakhine State in 2017, for alleged killings, abductions, and forcible recruitment in the Bangladesh camps.Yet Ata Ullah's arrest raises fears of escalating violence between rival militant groups, Quinley told Myanmar Now.“The sense of insecurity in the camps is palpable,” he said. “People have well-founded fears of further violence, reprisals, and militant abuses.”Conditions in Bangladesh’s Rohingya camps have created a climate of fear for all residents, sources say. The group urged the Bangladeshi government to collaborate with international justice mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable.“It’s an important step that Bangladesh authorities arrested Ata Ullah,” Quinley said. “ARSA and Ata Ullah are a scourge on the Rohingya community. We communicated with the authorities about our report findings in February and publicly released the report on March 18 in Dhaka.”Quinley explained that Ata Ullah should be given a fair trial and be prosecuted for overseeing serious abuses against the Rohingya. Although Ata Ullah's arrest is a key step towards accountability, Quinley says it may trigger a power vacuum, risking increased violence between ARSA and RSO.The Rohingya have faced decades of violence and persecution, predominantly in Myanmar's Rakhine State. In 2017, a brutal military crackdown forced over 700,000 Rohingya to flee across the border into Bangladesh, where they have since remained in overcrowded and under-resourced camps. The refugees have faced ongoing insecurity, with Rohingya-led militant groups increasing their presence in the camps since 2021. The new report by the organisation Fortify Rights highlights repeated attacks by Rohingya militant groups, including the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) (Photo: Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army/Facebook). ‘I saw blood everywhere’The report outlines repeated acts of violence, documented through 116 interviews; including with Rohingya refugee survivors and eyewitnesses, Rohingya militants, United Nations (UN) officials, and humanitarian aid workers.Survivors described gruesome acts of violence, including an attack on a madrasa in Camp-18 in Balukhali camp in October 2021 that left six people dead.“We did not realise anything at first because we were all deeply asleep,” said a Rohingya mullah who survived the attack. “Those who entered the madrasa had knives, sticks, and guns. They entered the madrasa, fired their weapons, and killed the students with gunshots.”A Rohingya man who witnessed the madrasa attack recounted the aftermath to Fortify Rights as well.“I saw the men with knives, swords, sticks, and pistols in their hands. ... I saw six dead bodies slaughtered on the ground. ... I saw [my relative’s] dead body. ... I saw blood everywhere.”In another interview with Fortify Rights, one Rohingya man, who lost two fingers and suffered severe head injuries, described his ordeal with a group of militants.“They cut off two of my fingers and hit me on my head. They thought I was dead, so they left me,” he said.The report also documented a shocking case in October 2023, when ARSA militants abducted, tortured, and mutilated a 23-year-old Rohingya man.“First, they cut off my leg. I was able to hear the sound as they were cutting at the bones of my leg with a big knife,” the survivor recounted. “I told [the armed men], ‘Please leave me, and I will give you whatever you want.’ They replied: ‘We will never leave you. We will kill you because you always report to NGOs and the authorities against us.’ ... They cut at my body for half an hour. My arm was cut [off] just above my elbow.” Fortify Rights officials presenting the organisation’s new report on crimes committed in Bangladeshi refugee camps, which they say are connected to the ongoing armed conflict in Myanmar. The report examines the possibility that the acts committed in the camps may constitute war crimes (Photo: Supplied/Fortify Rights) Fortify Rights warned that the ongoing violence poses a major threat to Rohingya refugees, worsened by cuts to United States government-funded aid that have limited security resources in the camps. Last week, UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited the Cox’s Bazar camps to help address the loss in aid and show his support.The rights watchdog urged international bodies like the International Criminal Court to investigate the crimes and ensure accountability for those responsible.Many Rohingya refugees have accused both ARSA and RSO of attempting to recruit young men to fight in Myanmar's ongoing conflict. According to Fortify Rights, Rohingya militants have forcibly taken refugees across the Myanmar border to join the conflict.One 17-year-old Rohingya refugee told Fortify Rights he was abducted from a tea shop in Bangladesh and taken across the border into Myanmar, where he was forced to fight alongside Myanmar junta forces.The group urged the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to improve support for Rohingya refugees facing militant violence, citing UNHCR’s failure to protect those at risk. The group called for safe houses outside camps and more third-country resettlement options.“I also worry about ARSA members going after Rohingya human rights defenders who oppose their reign of terror in the camps,” Quinley said. “Bangladesh authorities must urgently work to protect those who are at risk. Failure to protect Rohingya human rights defenders at this time could result in physical reprisals and even more killings.”

Rohingya militants accused of war crimes in Bangladesh camps

A report by the advocacy organisation Fortify Rights reveals harrowing accounts of killings, abductions, and torture in Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee camps

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