A massive fire has left at least 18 encampments in Jammu’s Rohingya camp, crumbled into ashes. The fire reportedly erupted from an empty shelter and raged for nearly two hours in the Maruti area of Jammu city at around 1 AM.
The cause behind the fire is not immediately known. 18 encampments, a mosque and a Madrasa were consumed in the fire. The camp hosts around 54 families and no lives were lost. Families who lost their homes have nothing to eat as they await help from aid agencies.
#Rohingya camp Fire in Jammu:
— Zafar Aafaq (@ZafarAafaq) April 5, 2021
Fire consumed:
-18 shanty homes
-One shop
-A mosque and a madrasa in the camp
Cause of fire not known yet, say police.
Watch: Salamullah, a refugee, recounts scenes. pic.twitter.com/00nx8xunMl
Speaking to Clarion India, Salamatulla, a camp leader, said “We scrambled here and there for water to extinguish the fire. A police team and fire tender also rushed in to extinguish the fire. They were able to bring the fire under control otherwise this whole camp would have been destroyed.”
More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in 2017 as the Myanmar military launched a crackdown that saw villages being burned down, extrajudicial killings, and rape.
Jammu city hosts around 4,000 Rohingya refugees living in different camps for the past decade. Last month, the police rounded up about 150 refugees and put them in a “holding centre” that was set up in a jail in the Kathua district. The action has sparked fear of deportation among the community.
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Rushda Fathima Khan is the Staff Reporter for The Cognate.
