COX’S BAZAR: Bangladesh police arrested at least 16 Rohingya refugees in a series of raids on camps in Dhaka after the murder of a top Rohingya community leader last week, officials said on Sunday.

Rights advocate Mohib Ullah was gunned down ten days ago by unidentified assailants outside his office at Kutupalong, the world’s largest refugee settlement in Bangladesh’s southeast.

His family and fellow community leaders have blamed the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) — a militant outfit behind a series of attacks on Myanmar security posts — saying Mohib Ullah’s growing popularity had enraged the group. ARSA has denied any involvement in the murder.

The 48-year-old had become one the most respected moderate voices advocating for Rohingya refugees after nearly 800,000 people fled Myanmar for Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district following military crackdowns on their villages in 2017.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2021