Rohingya shops demolished in Bangladesh

Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh: Bangladesh authorities have bulldozed more than 3,000 Rohingya-run shops since last month, a government official confirmed Tuesday, as struggling refugee families voiced their dismay at the demolitions.

About 850,000 members of the stateless Muslim minority are packed into overcrowded displacement camps in Bangladesh, most having fled neighbouring Myanmar after a 2017 military clampdown that prompted an international genocide investigation.

Bangladesh has been praised for taking in the refugees but rights groups have criticised restrictions placed on the refugees, most recently a drive to knock down makeshift shops that serve their communities. The country’s deputy refugee commissioner Shamsud Douza said that "more than 3,000 illegal shops" had been demolished.

"The number of Rohingya is increasing. And they need shelters. We are already building sheds on the premises," he said, adding that relief groups were ensuring the refugees were still getting daily necessities. But a Rohingya community leader and rights activist, told AFP the demolitions had already hurt tens of thousands of refugees.

"Rohingya families are large and the amount of food ration given to them is decreasing. Many families used to rely on the income from the shops," he said.