Rohingya refugees at a camp in Bangladesh have beaten up and injured three German journalists on “suspicion” that the foreigners were kidnappers.
A policeman was among three others injured in the assault at Ukhia on Thursday afternoon, Cox’s Bazar Additional Superintendent of Police Iqbal Hossain said.
Five of the injured are journalists Gunter Stener, Stefanie Apel and Ernico Neleude, their interpreter Shihab Uddin and driver Nabiul Alam, according to a police document.
The injured policeman could not be identified yet, Iqbal said.
They were treated at a Red Crescent hospital at the Lombashia camp in Kutupalong, the largest facility in the world for refugees.
Citing statements of local people, SP Iqbal said the three journalists had gone to a refugee camp in Ukhia to collect news and stopped at Lombashia on their way back.
They bought some Rohingya children clothes at the camp and some of the children got on the microbus by which the journalists were travelling, the police officer said.
The presence of the children on the microbus led some Rohingyas to assume that the journalists were kidnappers.
A group of masked Rohingyas then attacked the journalists and the others.
The refugees damaged cameras, laptops and the vehicle during the assault, according to the police officer.
No-one was arrested in connection with the attack until Thursday night, reports bdnews24.
“We are conducting an operation,” Iqbal said.
Executive Magistrate Rezaul Karim, who is stationed in Kutupalong, said the journalists’ papers were okay and they had received permission to travel to Cox’s Bazar for a documentary on Rohingya children.
“But they did not notify us before entering the camp. We could have provided security had they done so,” he added.
