Press Release
Rohingya Deaths in Cox’s Bazar Expose a Crisis Without End
At least eight Rohingya, including a four-year-old child, have been killed after multiple landslides struck four locations across the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, burying shelters while families slept during the early hours of Monday morning.
The Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC) extends its deepest condolences to the families who have lost loved ones and stands with the wider Rohingya community in mourning.
Rohingya should not still be living in conditions where predictable and preventable tragedies continue to claim lives.
Temporary shelters were never intended to become permanent homes. The refugee camps in Bangladesh were established as an emergency response to the Rohingya genocide, never as a permanent solution for an entire people. Nearly a decade later, an entire generation of Rohingya has been abandoned to the refugee camps.
More Rohingya are being forced to flee to Bangladesh because of the Arakan Army’s continued persecution, which many survivors describe as even more cruel than before, just as international humanitarian support is collapsing. Over the past two years, more than 200,000 Rohingya have arrived in camps that were already overcrowded. International funding has been cut at precisely the moment it is needed most, leaving fewer resources to provide even the most basic shelter, food, healthcare, education, and protection.
The Rohingya genocide continues through persecution, displacement and the systematic removal of Rohingya from their homeland. More Rohingya continue to flee because there is still no safe future for them in Arakan. These are not isolated tragedies, but the continuing consequences of a crisis that has never been resolved. There is still no safe place for Rohingya. Those who remain face persecution. Those who flee face prolonged displacement, overcrowded refugee camps, dangerous sea crossings and exploitation by traffickers in their search for safety.
This cannot be allowed to continue. ARNC renews its urgent call for international action on the Rohingya crisis. To prevent further loss of life and address the root causes of this crisis, the international community must:
- Urgently restore humanitarian funding to ensure Rohingya refugees have access to adequate shelter, food, healthcare, education and protection.
- Take urgent action to end the ongoing persecution of Rohingya in Arakan, recognising that the Rohingya genocide continues through persecution, displacement and the systematic removal of Rohingya from their homeland.
- Ensure accountability for the Rohingya genocide and all ongoing crimes committed against Rohingya through international justice mechanisms.
- Support the safe, voluntary and dignified return of Rohingya to their homeland with full citizenship, equal rights, security and international protection.
For more information, please contact:
- Tun Khin: +44 78 8871 4866
- Nay San Lwin: +49 176 6213 9138
- Khairul Amin: +47 9 242 8989
