Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah gunned down in Cox's Bazar

Dhaka Tribune  

UNB
September 29,2021

File photo: Mohib Ullah, a teacher turned rights activist, was one of the most high-profile advocates for the Rohingyas. He was invited to the White House and to speak to the UN Human Rights Council. Syed Zakir Hossain/Dhaka Tribune

The incident took place at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhiya upazila

Rohingya leader Md Mohib Ullah has been shot to death by a group of unidentified miscreants in Cox’s Bazar.

SP Md Naimul Haque, the 14th APBn commander, said that the attack took place at the Kutupalong camp in Ukhiya upazila around 8:30pm on Wednesday.

He was first taken to a local medical facility and later referred to the state-run Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital where the on-duty doctor declared him dead, added Naimul.

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Mohib Ullah rose to fame during the failed repatriation attempt in August 2019, when he was serving as the chairman of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH).

The ARSPH office inside the Kutupalong camp, the world’s largest refugee settlement, often housed meetings among Rohingya community leaders.

File photo shows Md. Mohib Ullah, a leader of Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, at the Kutupalong camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh April 7, 2019 Reuters

Mohib Ullah, a teacher turned rights activist, emerged as a key refugee leader and spokesperson in international meetings. In 2019, he was chosen to represent his community on a visit to the White House for a meeting with then US president Donald Trump on religious freedom, where he voiced the persecution faced by the Rohingya in Myanmar.    

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That same year, he came under fire after he along with others led a massive rally of 200,000 refugees to mark the second anniversary of the Myanmar military crackdown. Though it was peaceful, Bangladesh authorities appeared rattled.

They subsequently padlocked the ARSPH office, as part of a clampdown on the refugees following a failed repatriation attempt. The office was later allowed to reopen.  

It was there that Mohib Ullah was gunned down on Wednesday evening.  

According to Fortify Rights, an international NGO that has done advocacy on behalf of the Rohingya, Mohib Ullah’s rejection of violence had made him the target of death threats by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) militants and their sympathizers.

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