Shawdesh desk:

At least five people were killed, including a child, and several others were injured in a reported ‘gunfight’ between the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and Rohingya Solidarity Organisation inside the Rohingya camp in Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar, on Friday.

In their statement, the Armed Police Battalion said that those who were killed in the incident were linked to the ARSA.

Cox’s Bazar district Police Superintendent Mahfuzul Islam said the ‘gunfight’ occurred at about 5:00am and was fuelled by a rivalry for power within the camps.

Three individuals died on the spot, while the remaining two succumbed to their injuries during treatment, confirmed the district police chief.

He said that another body was found later at camp 11 but it was not related to the shooting incident.

So far, the identities of four deceased people have been established.

They are Nurul Amin, 24, from camp-3; Nazimullah, 26, from camp-10; Mohammad Anowar, 24, from camp-8 west; and Mohammad Hamim, 16, from camp-8 West.

Anowar was identified as an ARSA ‘jimmadar’ by APBn officials, while Nazimullah was an ARSA commander, and Nurul Amin was an operative.

At the crime scene, police claimed that they had seized a locally-made gun and a bullet. The initial investigation was impeded by heavy rains, according to officials.

No arrests have been made thus far.

APBn officials stated that those killed were directly associated with ARSA.

Assistant police superintendent (operations and media) Md Faruk Ahmed, the spokesperson for APBn-8, reported that they had initiated an operation to arrest the people responsible for the incident.

These killings occurred just a day after the murder of Rohingya leader Ebad Dullah, who had reportedly defected from ARSA and pledged loyalty to RSO.

On Thursday, law enforcement agencies said that Ebad Dullah, a deputy camp leader, was fatally stabbed in Ukhia while International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Asad Ahmad Khan was visiting the refugee camp to engage with the persecuted Rohingya community.

An internal report prepared by the law enforcement agency has identified Nur Kamal, also known as Matullah, as the leader of the ARSA group responsible for the knife attack on Ebad Ullah.

Ebad Ullah subsequently succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

The internal report clarifies that Ebad Ullah had been associated with ARSA but defected from the group. His murder was not a result of his support for ARSA, as stated in the report.

Cox’s Bazar Police Superintendent Mahfuzul Islam stated that investigations are underway to determine if there was any direct connection between Ebad Ullah’s killing and the recent clash.

During his visit, ICC prosecutor Karim Asad Ahmad Khan interviewed 13 Rohingya men and women at the Lambashia refugee camp in-charge office.

These individuals were victims of torture and oppression inflicted by the Myanmar Army in Rakhine State.

Mohammad Zubair, a Rohingya man who met the ICC prosecutor, emphasised that the killing had no relation to the prosecutor’s visit.

When asked about the murders inside the camps, ICC chief prosecutor Karim said on Friday at a press conference in Dhaka that they had immediately inquired with the UN agencies about the killing and found it not linked to his visit.

Asked, he replied that, as per their knowledge, no individual was targeted for his or her involvement with the investigation they launched in 2019.

A series of clashes and shootings resulting in the deaths of at least 50 Rohingyas in Rohingya camps over the past six months, according to media compilations.