Mohib Ullah, a celebrated Rohingya community leader, was killed by unknown assailants outside his office in a Bangladesh Refugee camp. It is reported that he was discussing business with other leaders of the community when the attack took place.
While no organisation has come forward to take responsibility of his assassination, his family blames militants for his death. They claim that an extremist organisation Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army is responsible for Ullah's death.
Ullah had also received threats from the ARSA, among other organisations, France 24 reported.
"ARSA did not just kill our brother, they killed our great leader."Habib Ullah, brother of Mohib Ullah told France 24
Having documented the plight of the Rohingya refugees, Ullah had rose to prominence as the voice of his community. He had previously spoken at the UN putting forth the community's perspective and was also invited to the White House in 2019.
Ullah was the founder and Chairman of the Arakan Rohingya society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH). He worked for the people in the Bangladesh refugee camp of Cox's Bazaar where he vehemently criticised violence.
He claimed that the protections provided by the UNHRC and Bangladesh authorities were not in a way that empowers people or keeps them safe.
Teacher turned activist, Ullah, came to Bangladesh in 2017 when about 700,000 refugees fled Myanmar amid violence allegedly perpetrated by Myanmar soldiers, the Outlook reported.
"He always defended the rights of the Rohingya to safe and dignified returns and to have a say in the decisions concerning their lives and future. His killing is a stark demonstration of the risks faced by those in the camps who speak up for freedom and against violence."Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at the Human Rights Watch in a statement to Outlook
Yasmin Ullah, a Rohingya rights activist, told The Guardian that agencies had been warned many times that Ullah was not safe. She said that the barbed wire set up for the refugees' safety did not keep them safe, instead it just separated them from the people of Bangladesh.
Violence in Cox’s Bazaar has become a growing problem, with armed groups committing murders and abductions as they compete for control of the settlement, which is one of the world’s largest refugee camps, hosting nearly 900,000 Rohingya, reported The Guardian.
While the Police has said that the enquiry is in its preliminary stages, they have identified that there were four armed men involved. Both Rohingya leaders and spokespersons of international human rights organisation are asking for an expedited investigation.
Saad Hammadi, Amnesty International’s South Asia Campaigner told The Guardian, "The onus is now on the Bangladeshi authorities to expedite an investigation into his murder and bring all those suspected of criminal responsibility to justice in fair trials."
(With inputs from The Guardian, Outlook and France 24)
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