Shanties dismantled in Bangladesh’s Kutupalong camp

Bangladesh police on Tuesday evicted Rohingya refugees from overcrowded roadside camps and farmland as aid groups scrambled to find emergency shelter for tens of thousands living outdoors in squalid conditions.

Around 4,21,000 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh since August 25, the UN says, overwhelming the ill-equipped refugee camps along the border.

Aid groups have warned of an unfolding humanitarian crisis in the camps.

Police on Tuesday cleared squatters and dismantled shanties around Kutupalong, one of the largest camps where the roads are choked with refugees and long queues of traffic snake from aid centres.

Amina Khatun, 70, made her home under a makeshift tent in a rubber plantation before police cleared her out. She took refuge in a nearby school but was moved on again.

“We’re running around like headless chickens. They are telling us to go away now. Why?” she told AFP.

Using megaphones, police warned refugees squatting on roadsides they could be arrested if they refused to move.

The government is building a massive new camp nearby to shelter 4,00,000 people, but the UN says it will take time before it is equipped with tents, toilets and medical facilities.

“The work is ongoing and some newly-arriving families have moved in,” UN refugee agency spokeswoman Vivian Tan told AFP. “As the influx of refugees continues, we are seeing massive humanitarian needs in Bangladesh across the board.”