'Unidentified terrorist groups' accused of murdering Rohingya leader in Bangladesh

By Md. Kamruzzaman

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – A murder case has been filed against “unidentified terrorist groups” for the killing of a prominent Rohingya leader in Bangladesh, police officials confirmed on Friday.

The case was lodged on an application by a brother of Mohibullah, the head of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights who was gunned down at a Rohingya refugee camp in the southern Cox’s Bazar district on Wednesday night.

“It is against unidentified terrorist groups. No specific organization has been named by the complainant,” a police official named Md. Salahuddin told Anadolu Agency, responding to a query about reports that the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), an armed Rohingya insurgent group in Myanmar, was involved in the murder.

Hundreds took part in the last rites for Mohibullah as he was laid to rest at a graveyard in Cox’s Bazar on Thursday evening.

His murder has been widely condemned by rights groups and top officials around the world.

In a Twitter post on Thursday night, US Secretary of State Antony Blinked hailed Mohibullah “as a brave and fierce advocate for the human rights of Rohingya Muslims around the world” and said the US was “deeply disturbed” by his murder.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) also condemned the “tragic killing” and urged Bangladeshi authorities to take immediate action against the perpetrators.

“UNHCR is in contact with law enforcement agencies and government authorities in charge of maintaining safety and security for the Rohingya refugees living in the camps,” the agency said.

A statement by 27 Rohingya rights groups from across the world called for the government to probe “the gruesome killing and punish the culprits … and take all necessary measures for the protection of the terrorized refugees.”

The statement cited sources from Mohibullah’s family as saying that ARSA was behind the murder.

The rights groups said ARSA was involved in murders, extortion, torture, and many other “criminal atrocities against helpless refugees” in the camps in southern Bangladesh.