Hundreds of Rohingya Refugee Tents in Bangladesh Burned which needed 2,000 Refugees to be relocated. A large fire broke out in the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on 14 January, Thursday morning. An area that could accommodate atleast thousand refugees went up in flames. This is a major blow for the refugees as they have lost nearly everything. 

Deputy Bangladesh government official for refugee affairs Mohammed Shamsud Douza said firefighters were only able to extinguish the flames after two hours of struggle. The explosion of gas cylinders from the shelter is one factor that slowed down the extinguishing process.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that around 550 shelters for 3,500 refugees were completely or partly destroyed by the fire. As many as 150 shops and facilities belonging to non-profit organizations were also burned down. “Security experts are working with the authorities to investigate the cause of the fire,” said UNHCR.

Bangladesh is known to have started moving some Rohingya refugees to a remote island called Bhasan Char. More than 2,000 refugees have been relocated since December last year. Photos and videos at the Nayapara Camp shows the severity of the fires. “Blok E is completely on fire. Nothing is left, nothing is saved, everything is on fire,” said Mohammad Arakani, one of the Rohingya refugees. 

Our charity partners, Rumah Zakat are on the ground assisting and helping provide aid to the refugees to help mitigate the situation.

Our donors have the unique opportunity to directly help their brothers and sisters on the ground when they need help most.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: “The best of deeds is making the believer happy, such as covering his ‘awrah, satisfying his hunger or meeting his need.” [Tabarani]