Bangladesh Landslides Kill Nine, Including Eight Rohingya Refugees

At least nine people, including eight Rohingya refugees, have been killed after heavy monsoon rains triggered landslides in southeastern Bangladesh.

The landslides struck four locations in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar between late Sunday and early Monday, burying shelters beneath mud and debris while many residents were asleep.

Rescue teams recovered seven bodies, while another victim was found by fellow refugees. A separate landslide also killed a Bangladeshi man after a hillside collapsed onto his home, according to local police.

One survivor, Ali Ahmed, said he lost both parents and his younger brother in the disaster. The family had fled Myanmar in 2017 to escape violence against the Rohingya.

More than one million Rohingya refugees currently live in overcrowded camps in Cox's Bazar, where makeshift shelters built on steep, deforested hillsides remain highly vulnerable to landslides during the annual monsoon season.

Authorities have already relocated about 1,000 refugees from high-risk areas and plan to move thousands more as heavy rainfall is expected to continue in the coming days.

The renewed conflict in Myanmar's Rakhine State has also raised concerns that more refugees could attempt to cross into Bangladesh, prompting authorities to increase monitoring along the border.

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