Bangladesh investigates massive fire at Rohingya refugee camps

Bangladesh investigates massive fire at Rohingya refugee camps
The blaze swept through the Kutupalong and Balukhali camps, reducing to ashes some 2,000 huts before it was brought under control in the evening. (AFP)
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Updated 06 March 2023

Bangladesh investigates massive fire at Rohingya refugee camps

Bangladesh investigates massive fire at Rohingya refugee camps
  • At least 6,000 children have been affected by the fire
  • 2,000 makeshift shelters were reduced to ashes

DHAKA: Bangladeshi authorities launched on Monday an investigation into a massive fire at Rohingya refugee camps that has left 12,000 people without shelter.

The fire broke out on Sunday afternoon in Cox’s Bazar, a southeastern coastal district and the world’s largest refugee settlement, which hosts about 1.2 million Rohingya Muslims who fled violence and persecution in neighboring Myanmar.

The blaze swept through the Kutupalong and Balukhali camps, reducing to ashes some 2,000 huts before it was brought under control in the evening.

“The fire broke out in three blocks of the Rohingya camps, affecting around 12,000 Rohingyas. All of them lost their shelter,” Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mizanur Rahman said, adding that no casualties have been reported so far.

“Cox’s Bazar district administration has formed a seven-member committee today to find the exact reason for the fire. The committee is asked to file the report in three days.”

Rahman told Arab News that work to restore the shelters have already started, and the International Organization for Migration has distributed housing materials among the Rohingya, who will be rebuilding their homes themselves.

The UN Children’s Fund estimated that half of the refugees affected by the fire were children.

Sheldon Yett, UNICEF representative in Bangladesh, said in a statement on Monday that infrastructure critical to their education and healthcare has been destroyed, including 20 learning centers, at least one nutrition center, and several sanitation facilities.

The Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar are prone to fires.

Atish Chakma, deputy assistant director of the Fire Service and Civil Defense Department in Cox’s Bazar, told Arab News that the danger of fire in the area is high due to congestion, the flammable materials the shelters are built from, and a lack of water to immediately put out the flames.

“Rohingya camps are highly congested, and the makeshift homes were built side by side, keeping no distance in between. Besides, the plastic materials that were used for building these shelters are highly flammable. So, whenever a fire erupts in one house, it spreads rapidly,” he said.

“There is a huge scarcity of water inside the camps. For this reason, our firefighters face difficulties while dousing the fire.”

Between January 2021 and December 2022, at least 222 fire incidents were recorded in the settlements, according to Defense Ministry data.

In 2021, 15 refugees were killed and more than 50,000 were displaced after a huge blaze spread through the camps.


Thousands of Albanians breaching immigration bail in UK

Thousands of Albanians breaching immigration bail in UK
Updated 29 May 2023

Thousands of Albanians breaching immigration bail in UK

Thousands of Albanians breaching immigration bail in UK
  • 12,842 Albanians released from immigration detention centers failed to report to bail officials at their scheduled time

LONDON: Nearly 13,000 Albanians who entered the UK without valid visas breached the terms of their immigration bail, it was reported on Monday.

Home Office data shows that in the 15 months to this March, 12,842 Albanians released from immigration detention centers failed to report to bail officials at their scheduled time. They accounted for just over a quarter of the 44,957 people who violated their immigration bail in that period.

Many people released into the community are monitored by electronic tags. The Daily Telegraph reported on Monday that videos on TikTok show Albanians using scissors or wire cutters to remove them. 

The Telegraph said that TikTok users in Albania were also offering to act as guarantors for up to £3,000 ($3,700), so that compatriots entering the UK could skip being held at a detention center.

Immigration lawyers in London told Top Channel that Albanians were breaching their bail because they were afraid of being deported to their home country following the signing of an agreement between Tirana and London that fast-tracks their removal. 

“We take further steps if the person does not comply with the conditions of their bail,” A Home Office spokesman told the Telegraph. “There are further bail conditions, home visits, arrests and obtaining financial guarantees,” they added.
 


Ukraine approves sanctions against Russian ally Iran: parliament

A police expert examines fragments of a missile after Russia fired a barrage of missiles for the second time in 24 hours.
A police expert examines fragments of a missile after Russia fired a barrage of missiles for the second time in 24 hours.
Updated 29 May 2023

Ukraine approves sanctions against Russian ally Iran: parliament

A police expert examines fragments of a missile after Russia fired a barrage of missiles for the second time in 24 hours.
  • Package was approved one day after Ukraine said Russia used Iranian Shahed drones in the largest UAV attack on the capital since beginning of invasion

KYIV: Kyiv’s parliament on Monday approved a sanctions package against Russia’s ally Iran, accused of sending weapons to Moscow during its more than year-long invasion of Ukraine.
The package was approved by parliament one day after Ukraine said Russia used Iranian Shahed drones in the largest UAV attack on the capital since the beginning of the invasion.
“The resolution synchronizes Ukrainian sanctions with the actions of the entire civilized world on the path to the complete isolation of Iran,” the Ukrainian parliament said on its website.
The package includes a ban on “military and dual-use goods” with Iran and the “suspension of economic and financial obligations in favor of residents of Iran.”
It still needs to be signed into law by Zelensky — a formality as the Ukrainian leader submitted the bill himself.
Zelensky had last week appealed directly to Iranians, asking: “Why do you want to be accomplices in Russian terror?“
His adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak said Sunday that Kyiv was hit by dozens of Shahed drones and called Iran a “terrorist regime.”
“Tehran has become a key ally of Moscow in this war, deliberately supplying it with weapons for attacks on civilian cities,” Podolyak said on Twitter.
Tehran has struck back by saying this was an attempt by Zelensky to gain the West’s military and financial support.


Afghanistan calls for ‘diplomatic’ resolution with Iran after border skirmishes

Afghanistan calls for ‘diplomatic’ resolution with Iran after border skirmishes
Taliban security forces in Nimroz province take defensive position at the Afghanistan-Iran border on May 27, 2023. (Twitter) A
Updated 29 May 2023

Afghanistan calls for ‘diplomatic’ resolution with Iran after border skirmishes

Afghanistan calls for ‘diplomatic’ resolution with Iran after border skirmishes
  • 1 Taliban officer, 2 Iranian border guards killed after shooting broke out on Saturday
  • Latest incident came amid a dispute over water rights to the Helmand River

The Taliban government has called on Iran to resolve bilateral issues “through diplomatic channels,” an Afghan official told Arab News on Monday, as tension at their border eased following skirmishes over the weekend. 

At least one Taliban officer and two Iranian border guards were killed on Saturday after shooting broke out near a border post between Afghanistan and Iran, with officials from the two countries accusing each other of opening fire first. 

The incident came amid a dispute over water rights to the Helmand River, which flows from Afghanistan into Iran’s arid eastern regions, as the neighbors face worsening drought exacerbated by climate change. 

“We don’t want relations with our neighboring countries to deteriorate. Our request to all neighboring countries, including Iran, is to resolve these issues through diplomatic channels,” Hafiz Zia Ahmad, deputy spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Arab News. 

“The current situation is normal. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is never in favor of escalation.” 

Officials have yet to provide details on what provoked the incident, in which several people on both sides were also injured. 

It occurred after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned the Taliban earlier this month not to violate Iran’s water rights over their shared Helmand River, as laid out in a bilateral treaty signed in 1973. 

Water rights are among other issues the two countries faced since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, including previous skirmishes at the border and reports of mistreatment against Afghan refugees in Iran, which has for decades hosted millions of them. 

In a report published on Monday, state-run IRNA news agency quoted Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi as saying that “there is no problem at the present time” and that “everything is calm” at the Afghan-Iranian border. 

Gul Mohammed Qutrat, a police spokesman in Nimroz, said problems at the border have been addressed. 

“Currently, the situation is under control,” he told Arab News. “There is no tension at all at the border.” 


UK police to work with North African counterparts in migration crackdown

UK police to work with North African counterparts in migration crackdown
Updated 29 May 2023

UK police to work with North African counterparts in migration crackdown

UK police to work with North African counterparts in migration crackdown
  • New front in mission to ‘stop the boats’ as immigration minister begins tour of Tunisia, Algeria, Libya
  • Robert Jenrick: ‘We’re taking the fight to the people-smuggling gangs upstream’

London: UK police will work with authorities in North Africa to prevent migrants leaving for Europe this summer, The Times reported on Monday.

The move, which will see officers from the National Crime Agency operate in Tunisia, Algeria and Libya, will open a new front in Britain’s objective to “stop the boats,” following a deal with France to clamp down on people-smuggling gangs.

Italy has predicted that 400,000 migrants will try to enter Europe through its sea borders this year, with gangs overseeing vessel journeys from the North African coast across the Mediterranean.

That figure is a four-fold increase from last year, with 80,000 people already having made the journey in the first three months of 2023.

The UK Home Office has warned that the surge could lead to an increase in the number of migrants traveling northward and eventually making the trip to Britain across the English Channel, again via small vessels. In 2023 so far, 7,569 migrants have crossed from France to Britain.

The new deal with North African countries will involve intelligence- and expertise-sharing, as well as crackdowns on people-smuggling gangs.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick on Monday will start a five-day tour of North Africa and Europe to oversee the launch of the scheme.

He is set to visit Tunisia, Algeria and Libya to meet counterparts and discuss law-enforcement efforts to “disrupt, degrade and deny gangs at source.”

Jenrick told The Times: “We’re taking the fight to the people-smuggling gangs upstream to help prevent dangerous and unnecessary journeys long before migrants are within reach of the UK.

“Just as we’ve deepened diplomatic and security cooperation on illegal migration with France, Italy and Albania, we are working to enhance our cooperation with other key transit and source countries for migration to tackle this shared challenge. It is right that we use all the assets of the state to disrupt, degrade and deny gangs at source.”

The new scheme comes as the British government’s Illegal Migration Bill faces scrutiny in the House of Lords.

The series of proposed laws aims to expedite the detainment and deportation of migrants who arrive illegally in the UK.

After visiting Tunisia, Algeria and Libya, Jenrick will travel to Italy to meet Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has pledged to clamp down on illegal migration as part of her G7 agenda.

Jenrick will also meet French officials in Paris and tour the northern port city of Calais, the most popular departure point for migrant vessels traveling to Britain.


UN agencies warn of starvation risk in Sudan, Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mali, call for urgent aid

UN agencies warn of starvation risk in Sudan, Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mali, call for urgent aid
Updated 29 May 2023

UN agencies warn of starvation risk in Sudan, Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mali, call for urgent aid

UN agencies warn of starvation risk in Sudan, Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mali, call for urgent aid
  • The report by the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization calls for urgent attention to save both lives and jobs. Beyond the nine countries at the highest level of concern, the ag

ROME: Two UN agencies warned Monday of rising food emergencies including starvation in Sudan due to the outbreak of war and in Haiti,Burkina Faso and Mali due to restricted movements of people and goods.
The four countries join Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen at the highest alert levels, with communities that are already facing or projected to face starvation or otherwise risk a slide “toward catastrophic conditions.”
The report by the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization calls for urgent attention to save both lives and jobs. Beyond the nine countries rating the highest level of concern, the agencies said 22 countries are identified as “hotspots’’ risking acute food insecurity.
“Business-as-usual pathways are no longer an option in today’s risk landscape if we want to achieve global food security for all, ensuring that no one is left behind.” said Qu Dongyu, FAO Director-General.
He called for immediate action in the agricultural sector “to pull people back from the brink of hunger, help them rebuild their lives and provide long-term solution to address the root causes of food insecurities.”
The report cited a possible spillover of the conflict in Sudan, deepening economic crises in poor nations and rising fears that the El Nino climatic phenomenon forecast for mid-2023 could provoke climate extremes in vulnerable countries.
The report warns that 1 million people are expected to flee Sudan, while an additional 2.5 million inside Sudan face acute hunger in the coming months as supply routes through Port Sudan are disrupted by safety issues.
WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain warned of “catastrophic”consequences unless there is clear action to “help people adapt to a changing climate and ultimately prevent famine.”
“Not only are more people in more places around the world going hungry, but the severity of the hunger they face is worse than ever,” McCain said.