The government plans to close one of the 34 Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar as it is isolated from the other camps, officials of the Office of the Refugee, Relief and Repatriation commissioner (RRRC) have told Dhaka Tribune.
If the government proceeds with the plan, the camp will be the first one to be closed since the latest influx of Rohingyas from Myanmar in late August 2017.
"Camp 23 is a little isolated from the other 33 camps. So, we have decided to close it to facilitate operational activities,” Additional RRRC Mohammad Shamsud Douza told this correspondent from Cox's Bazar.
Based in Cox's Bazar, the Office of the RRRC under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief is the top government body in dealing with the Rohingya crisis.
"There are still more than 2,000 Rohingya residents in the camp 23. It will be shut down after relocating them to the other camps," Shamsud Douza said.
To a question, he ruled out any connection between the relocation of Rohingyas to Bhashan Char and the decision to close the camp.
Two other officials, including the officer-in-charge of camp-23, concurred with the additional RRRC.
However, two other sources cited different reasons for the closure.
One said that the camp was being closed to make it easier to fence the entire settlement, while the other said it was being closed due to growing tensions between the Rohingyas and the host community. The two claims could not be independently verified.