By Farzana Tamannur (TON Bangladesh)

A mass of a dozen people hacked to death two Rohingya community leaders in Bangladesh, police said Sunday, as security deteriorates in camps housing almost a million refugees.

Bangladesh has been housing Rohingya refugees in a massive sprawl of camps as they fled a military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017 that is now the subject of a slaughter investigation at the UN's top court.

The squalid settlements have seen accelerating violence in recent months, with mobs trying to assert control over drug trading and intimidate the refugees' civilian leadership over killings and abductions.

Police spokesman Faruk Ahmed said two Rohingya camp leaders were murdered late on oct, 2022 at Camp 13, calling it one of the worst attacks in recent months.

"More than a dozen Rohingya criminals hacked Maulvi Mohammad Yunus, 38, who is the head majhi of Camp 13. They also murdered Mohammad Anwar, 38, another majhi. Yunus died on the spot and Amwar expired at a hospital," he said.

"Majhi" is a word for a Rohingya camp leader.

A senior officer of an elite police unit tasked with security in the camps blamed the murders on the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a rebellious group fighting the military in Myanmar.

"These are targeted murders by ARSA. The internal clashes in Myanmar are effecting the security condition in the camps," he said, speaking on condition of privacy to discuss sensitive info.

Gangs have long fought turf combats for control of the drug trade, centered on yaba methamphetamine drugs, but the police chief of the Bangladeshi district of Cox's Bazar said there was an acceleration taking place.

"In the last three months alone, at least 14 Rohingyas were killed in the camps. The number of killings in the camp has increased compared to last year," Mahfuzul Islam told AFP.

A Rohingya community leader as well as a nephew of one of those murdered on Saturday also blamed ARSA for the murders.

"ARSA murdered my uncle last night. My uncle used to tell them not to deal in drugs. He would manage voluntarily watching in the camps. They murdered my uncle," the nephew said, asking to continue anonymous out of fears for his safety.

ARSA has not openly commented on Saturday's killings.

Numerous of its members earlier this year were charged over the killing of top Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah in September last year. ARSA has repudiated its involvement.

The killing of Ullah, who had been received at the White House by then-president Donald Trump, sparked a main crackdown by Bangladeshi authorities, with at least 8,000 suspected ARSA members arrested.

The refugee settlements in the Cox Bazar region, which house over one million Rohingya refugees, have seen an upsurge in violence in recent months, with several gangs vying for control of drug trafficking operations, with a specific focus on yaba methamphetamine pills, methamphetamine, and caffeine. Civilian refugee leaders have been threatened and targeted, with some abducted and others killed.

Numerous Rohingyas were charged in September with the killing of top Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah. Though the ARSA has denied involvement, Bangladeshi authorities arrested at least 8,000 suspected ARSA members in linking with Ullah’s killing in a major crackdown.

Since Myanmar’s military crackdown on Rohingyas in 2017, millions of Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh. In recent months, violence in the squalid camps has increased as a result of several local gangs clashing to establish control over drug trafficking at the cost of killings and abductions.

Notably, in September, Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh who visited India, in a discussion with ANI had described the Rohingya Muslims seeking sanctuary in her country as a “big liability”. She specified that her country is in contact with the international community to confirm that the Rohingyas are deported to Myanmar.