Two Rohingya leaders killed in Bangladesh refugee camp

Two Rohingya leaders were hacked to death on Saturday in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, according to officials. 

Faruk Ahmed, a police spokesperson, said the two leaders were killed by a mob of a dozen men at Camp 13, adding that it was one of the worst such attacks in recent months. 

"More than a dozen Rohingya miscreants hacked Maulvi Mohammad Yunus, 38, who is the head majhi (leader) of Camp 13. They also killed Mohammad Anwar, 38, another majhi. Yunus died on the spot and Anwar died at a hospital," said Ahmed as quoted by Al Jazeera. 

A senior official blamed the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), an armed militia that is fighting the military in Myanmar from where the Rohingya refugees were forcibly displaced.

ARSA has been accused of bringing old scores from Myanmar over the border into Bangladesh's camps and did not comment on Saturday's murders. 

Bangladesh houses millions of Rohingya refugees in a maze of camps since they fled a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017. Myanmar's military has been accused of conducting a genocide against the Rohingya, and is being investigated by the International Court of Justice. 

Camp 13 is located in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazaar, home to some of the largest and most densely populated refugee camps in the world. Violence has escalated in the camps in recent weeks. 

"In the last three months alone at least 14 Rohingyas were murdered in the camps. The number of murders in the camp has increased compared to last year," Mahfuzul Islam, Cox's Bazaar's police chief was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera. 

Earlier this year, four members of ARSA were charged with killing top Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah - a well-known figure who had been received at the White House by President Donald Trump. His killing led to a major crackdown by Bangladeshi authorities, who arrested at least 8,000 ARSA members.