Bangladesh Denies ICG’s Militancy Claims in Rohingya Camps

Arakan Now | 19 June 2025

COX’S BAZAR — Bangladesh has strongly rejected claims made by the International Crisis Group (ICG) suggesting that Rohingya armed groups are recruiting and preparing for conflict from within refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

The Brussels-based ICG, in its latest report titled “Bangladesh/Myanmar: The Dangers of a Rohingya Insurgency,” warned that armed Rohingya factions—such as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), and other lesser-known groups—are coordinating efforts and using religious narratives to recruit fighters from the camps.

Bangladeshi authorities firmly dismissed these allegations.

“No such militant activity has been detected,” said Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammed Mizanur Rahman.

“We are constantly monitoring the camps. Law enforcement agencies are patrolling day and night. It is impossible for such activities to happen under our watch.”

Rahman described the report’s claims as “untrue” and “misleading,” adding that there is no evidence of armed group training or recruitment within the camps.

The ICG report warns that as Myanmar’s Arakan Army advances through Rakhine State, rival Rohingya factions are forming tactical alliances to confront them. It also states that some religious leaders within the camps are promoting armed resistance as a religious duty, a message that could appeal to desperate and disillusioned refugees.

“These armed factions are now more coordinated than ever,” the report cautions.

“They have set aside rivalries and are planning joint operations. If this escalates, it could lead to serious damage, not only in Rakhine, but also in terms of regional security and refugee management.”

The ICG also voiced concern that the camps in Bangladesh could be drawn into the escalating conflict, warning that the establishment of armed bases there could provoke further instability and heighten cross-border tensions between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Photo: AFP