A devastating, massive fire has ripped through a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh on March 22, 2021.
According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, the blaze has left at least 15 people dead, 400 missing and displaced 50,000 in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Behind the clouds of smoke and beneath the ashes are homes, education centres and cherished belongings.
The fire in the southeastern city of Cox’s Bazar is the third blaze to hit the camp in four days, forcing at least 50,000 people to flee and follows two other major fires in January.
Local government officials said the latest blaze was the biggest seen since the influx of Rohingya refugees, a Muslim minority from Myanmar, in 2017.
UNICEF is working shoulder-to-shoulder with partners to support children and their families with shelter and water, and to reunify those who have been separated in the turmoil.
Almost 1 million people live in the crowded camp after fleeing brutal violence in Myanmar. Half are children.
With heavy monsoon rains rapidly approaching and the ever-present threat of COVID-19, funds are urgently needed to help families rebuild and recover.
