Ukiya, Bangladesh: Eighteen Rohingya refugees were arrested and jailed on June 14 for cutting woods in the forest, said Kala Meah, a refugee elder from the unregistered refugee camp in Kutupalong.

 The Rohingya refugees, living in the camp, need to build their huts or repair them with the onset of the monsoon in Bangladesh.
 Last month Cyclone Aila lashed Cox’s Bazaar where many houses were destroyed and many people left homeless. The unregistered refugee camp was one of the worst affected, said a social worker from NGOs in Cox’s Bazaar.

 The refugees were trying to repair their huts when the rain stopped and went to the mountains near the camp to fetch wood, said Kala.
 When the refugees were cutting wood, they met a section of forest department personnel who were patrolling the forest. They arrested the refugees, Kala added.

 The forest department handed over the refugees to the police station of Ukiya, which filed a case against them. The police produced them in court. The court ordered a jail term, said Mamona, wife of Ali Ullah who was arrested by forest department.

 The arrested refugees are: Mohamed Rafique 20, Mohamed Nasir, 19, Abdul Hasson, 32, Abdul Amin, 20, Fatay Ali,18, Mohamed Rafique, 18, Nur Alam,18, Hamid 28, Kamal 18, Ali Ullah 45,Mohamed Ayub, 25 and Mohamed Sabar, 27.