Probe body: Balukhali Rohingya camp fire was an act of sabotage
News Desk
The seven-member probe body, which was formed to investigate the recent fire at the Balukhali Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar, said the incident was an act of sabotage.
After handing over the investigation report to the Cox’s Bazar deputy commissioner at around 4:30pm on Sunday, the head of the Investigation Committee and Additional District Magistrate Md Abu Sufian gave this information in a briefing.
The official said as part of the investigation process, they conducted interviews with 75 witnesses and thoroughly examined both print and electronic media reports.
“Altogether, it appears that the fire was a deliberate act of violence to spread dominance.
However, there was no specific information about who set the fire,”
Additionally, he mentioned that the investigation report included 12 recommendations aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future.
The latest fire, which broke out in three Rohingya camps in Ukhiya’s Balukhali on March 5, has destroyed over 2,000 houses.
The fire first broke out in the B and E blocks of camp no 11 around 3pm, later, the fire spread to neighboring Rohingya camps no 10 and 9.
In recent years, over 300 fire incidents have been reported in Cox’s Bazar’s Rohingya camps – home to some 1.2 million displaced people from Myanmar.
Some of the incidents were deadly, while some of them left thousands homeless.
The frequency of the incidents has raised questions about whether the fires were accidental or intentional acts of sabotage.
According to the report of the parliamentary committee of the Ministry of Defence said there were 222 fires in shelter camps in 2021, and 99 of these were accidental.
As of February 15, a total of 60 of the incidents are deemed to be sabotage, and the reasons behind 63 of them are still unknown.