Armed group behind Rohingya leader’s murder: Bangladesh police

Bangladesh, Education, Help Refugees, Human Rights, Myanmar, Refugees Issues, Religious Rights

Bangladesh police have admitted for the first time that an armed group ordered last year’s murder of a prominent Rohingya leader, saying it was threatened by his growing popularity.

The assassination of Mohib Ullah last September sent shockwaves through the sprawling border settlements that house hundreds of thousands of stateless Rohingya refugees who fled a violent crackdown in neighbouring Myanmar.

Hours after the 48-year-old was gunned down in Kutupalong, the world’s largest refugee settlement, his family accused the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) of orchestrating the killing.

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The armed group is waging a rebellion in Myanmar and has been accused of running narcotics, murdering political opponents and instilling a climate of fear in the camps.

Security forces have routinely denied ARSA operates in the camps and blamed Ullah’s death on an unrelated turf war.

But the police investigation has made headway in recent weeks and the inspector manning the probe on Tuesday said 15 people with ties to the group had been arrested for their role in the killing, four of whom have issued confessions.

“In their statement the four claimed they are ARSA members and they got instructions from ARSA leaders to kill Mohib Ullah,” Gazi Salahuddin told AFP news agency.