In Bangladesh, a fire broke out in a camp with hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees.

5:50 p.m., March 22, 2021

In Bangladesh, a fire broke out in a camp with hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees. This is reported by the Austrian aid organization Sonne International. The damage cannot yet be assessed. Hundreds of tents and several health centers were destroyed, according to the Aljazeera news site. According to a spokesman for the Rohingya, at least 700 homes are said to have burned down. 3,500 people have lost their homes. How the fire came about and whether there are any victims is still unclear. The fire should now be under control. Louise Donovan, spokesman for the UNHCR, emphasized emergency services are on site.

Hundreds of thousands of members of the Muslim minority from the predominantly Buddhist Myanmar fled from there to the Muslim neighboring country of Bangladesh from military violence in 2017. Since then they have lived in the camp near the town of Cox’s Bazar.

Sonne International is the only Austrian aid organization to operate an infirmary in the camp and provide residents with food and medical supplies.