Security tightened in and around Rohingya camps ahead of election

Security has been strengthened in and around Rohingya camps as well as across the wider Cox’s Bazar region ahead of the upcoming 13th national election, said Lt Col Tanveer Ahmed of Bangladesh Army’s Ramu 10 Infantry Division.

Speaking at a briefing, he said additional security measures have been taken inside and around the camps to ensure a peaceful election. Extra army personnel have been deployed, the number of checkpoints has been significantly increased, damaged fencing has been repaired, and regular as well as long-range patrols are being conducted.

The information was shared during a joint force press briefing and views-exchange meeting held at the Cox’s Bazar Cultural Centre today at around 11:00am.

Lt Col Tanveer said that the army, along with the Armed Police Battalion (APBN) and other law enforcement agencies, is jointly maintaining close surveillance in the Rohingya camps.

In a written statement, Lt Col Sutapa Jaman said that based on intelligence, a joint search operation was carried out on February 8 in the Balukhali area of Ukhiya upazila. The operation was conducted by a special army task force in coordination with police and the upazila administration.

During the operation, a total of 784 Rohingyas were detained, including 211 men, 196 women, 197 children, and 180 elderly people. At the same time, 20 Bangladeshi house owners were detained on allegations of illegally sheltering Rohingyas.

She also said that on February 5, another cordon and search operation was conducted in the Barampara area of Chandanaish upazila, Chattogram, involving a special army task force, BGB, police, and the civil administration. During that operation, a total of 345 Rohingyas, including women and children, were detained. The detained Rohingyas were later handed over to the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC).

Lt Col Sutapa further said that between February 3 and 9, a total of 46 joint operations were carried out across south Chattogram and the Cox’s Bazar region under the leadership of the army, in coordination with other law enforcement agencies. During these operations, 59 criminals were arrested, including listed top terrorists, drug traffickers, members of robbery gangs, juvenile gang members, smugglers, and accused persons in various cases.

She said the operations also led to the recovery of six illegal firearms, 14 rounds of ammunition, 114 locally made sharp weapons, 8,450 yaba tablets, 2,311 litres of locally brewed alcohol, 49 litres of beer, and other materials used for subversive activities.

When asked about the army’s deployment plan in the four parliamentary constituencies during the election, Lt Col Tanveer said that an adequate number of army personnel have been deployed across south Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar under the 10 Infantry Division. He added that temporary camps have been set up centring each polling station to ensure overall security during the polls.