At least 15 people have been killed and nearly 50,000 left homeless by a fire that broke out in a refugee camp Rohingya in Bangladesh.
Authorities in the country, however, as reported by AMPE, defended the use of barbed wire around the huge camps in Cox Bazaar.
Rohingya refugees protested in the media and on social media that some were injured trying to clear a road through the barbed wire to escape the flames.
According to the UN refugee agency and Rohingya officials, the barbed wire blocked the work of rescuers and injured people. trying to save themselves from the fire.
“Rescue efforts have proved difficult due to the existence of barbed wire,” the UN and international and local aid organizations said in a joint statement.
Nearly one million Rohingya, a Muslim minority from Myanmar, live in appalling conditions in bamboo shelters and sails in makeshift camps in Cox Bazar after fleeing their country in 2017 to escape persecution.
His refugee commissioner Bangladesh Shah Rezwan Hayat replied that “I believe the barbed wire did not hinder the rescue efforts. There are several streets inside the camps and hundreds of our employees, police and volunteers were present to rescue the refugees.
He added that the barbed wire had been placed inside the camps for security reasons in recent months and in order to serve as a boundary between the various camps.
“The barbed wire was placed outside the camps for the security of the Rohingya. “If the barbed wire was used as a fence, how did dozens of fire trucks and police vans manage to enter the camps 20 minutes after the fire broke out?” he wondered.
Hyatt also rejected the UN announcement that 400 people were missing after Monday’s fire, explaining that most Rohingya sought refuge with relatives in neighboring camps, schools or transit centers for refugees.
“So far we do not think anyone is missing” He added that Bangladeshi authorities and UN agencies are setting up tents and temporary accommodation for homeless refugees.
Police said they had not been notified of any missing persons, but had questioned eight people about the cause of the fire.
According to Hayat, the fire started from a stove before spreading rapidly due to strong winds and gas cylinders used by refugees to cook.
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