Pakistani man led the raid

A criminal gang led by a Pakistani citizen had carried out the attack on the Ansar barracks inside the Rohingya refugee camp at Nayapara of Teknaf on May 13, an accused told a local court yesterday.

Nurul Absar of Rangikhali Gazipara village in Teknaf said this in his confessional statement before Cox's Bazar Judicial Magistrate Siraj Uddin, according to court sources.

Five members of Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), a Rohingya militant outfit, and 25 other criminals, including several Rohingyas from the refugee camp, were involved in the attack, the sources added quoting Absar as saying.

The Daily Star, however, could not verify the information independently.

In the early hours of May 13, some 25 to 30 “robbers” attacked the Ansar barracks, held three on-duty Ansar men hostage, shot dead camp commander Ali Hossain dead, took away the keys of the armoury from him and looted 11 arms and 670 bullets.

The Ansar authorities on the same day filed a case with Teknaf Police Station, accusing some 30-35 unnamed people of the attack, murder and looting.

Teknaf police said they arrested 22-year-old Absar from his village on Monday. He was accused in three cases for murder, riot and attack.

Court sources said Absar told the court that Pakistani citizen Omar Faruq, known as Pakistani Faruq, had led the attack. He is now in Myanmar.

The five RSO members crossed the Naf river by a boat to enter into Bangladesh. They organised the Rohingyas and local criminals. Following the attack, the loot were taken to Myanmar and most of the attackers fled to the neighbouring country immediately, the arrestee told the magistrate.

The court later sent Absar to Cox's Bazar jail.

Md Shafiqul Islam, deputy inspector general of police in Chittagong, said the secessionist RSO men had carried out the attack to collect arms.

Pakistani citizen Omar Faruk is now in Myanmar, he told this correspondent.

Around 20 people took part in the attack. Of them, five came from Myanmar with arms. Besides, some local people and a few Rohingyas from the refugee camp were part of the gang, said Shafiqul.

“We're trying to recover the looted arms and ammo. If needed, we'll talk to the border guards of the two countries,” he added.

Police earlier picked up three people including two Rohingyas in connection with the attack. They were taken on three-day remand each. The three are now behind bars.

Some 13,000 Rohingyas are registered with the refugee camp in Teknaf.