Gunfight at Ukhiya Rohingya camp leaves one child dead, six wounded

A five-year-old child was killed and six others, including the child's mother and three women, were injured in a gunfight between two armed groups at the Balukhali Rohingya refugee camp in Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar. Several of the injured have been transferred to Chattogram Medical College Hospital for advanced treatment.

Superintendent of Police Riaz Uddin Ahmed of the 8th Armed Police Battalion (APBN), deployed in Ukhiya, confirmed the incident.

According to police and local sources, the gunfight between two factions started on Thursday evening and continued until 10pm in the B-40 and B-41 block areas of Camp-8 East. Camp residents reported hearing over a hundred gunshots, which spread panic across the camp. Many people left their homes in search of safe shelter. Amid the gunfire, five-year-old Mowjahid, son of Nur Alam, a camp resident, was shot in the head.

He was taken to Cox's Bazar District Sadar Hospital in critical condition but died while undergoing treatment. The child's mother, Tahera Begum, and five others were injured in the incident. Several of the injured were transferred from Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital to Chattogram Medical College Hospital.

Police suspect the gunfight broke out between members of the Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA) and the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO). However, the exact cause of the clash and those involved have not yet been confirmed. The Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar, hosting over a million refugees, have long struggled with crime and violence involving armed groups . A recent UN report highlighted the deteriorating conditions and the "ever-worsening brutal abuse" of Rohingya people in Myanmar.