The seized items in Ukhiya were agricultural tools: IOM

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has given clarification about the recovery of around 5,000 sharp weapons from a local NGO in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday last.

It said those items were agriculture tools given to two local non-government organisations for distribution among marginal people of the area for their agricultural and livelihood activities.

The international organisation, in a press release, also said those tools, stored in the two NGO offices, were not for providing to the Rohingya refugees in camps.

The issue was wrongly presented in social media, resulting misunderstanding among administration, mass media and the civil society, it said.

The local administration checked all the documents against those tools and returned those to the NGOs, as per the release.

On Wednesday, Ukhiya Executive Magistrate and Assistant Commissioner (Land) Fakhrul Islam recovered the locally-made weapons, kept in 20/25 sacks, in a drive in the godown of Shed, a local NGO.

The seized items included machetes, knives, saw and other sharp weapons.

Earlier on the same day, the government banned the activities of two NGOs – ADRA Bangladesh and Al-Markazul Islami -- for providing financial assistance for the August 25 rally of Rohingyas and campaigning against the Rohingya repatriation.

On August 31, 41 non-government organisations (NGOs) were withdrawn from all kinds of activities in Cox's Bazar Rohingya camps for their wrongdoings.

Thousands of Rohingyas staged a huge rally in Ukhiya on August 25 demanding that the international community step up pressure on Myanmar to meet their five-point demand, including repatriation, citizenship and trial in the international court of those involved in killing and persecution.

Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas and most of them entered the country since August 25, 2017.