Christians attacked, kidnapped in Bangladeshi refugee camp

Christians attacked, kidnapped in Bangladeshi refugee camp

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — Rohingya Christians were attacked and a pastor and his teenage daughter kidnapped during violence in the world’s largest refugee camp.

The 59 assailants were ethnic Rohingya Muslims who like the Rohingya Christians had fled to Bangladesh to escape ethnic cleansing efforts in Myanmar (formerly Burma). Human Rights Watch estimates there are about 1,500 Rohingya Christians among more than 700,000 predominantly Muslim Rohingya.

The late January attacks in Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar District hospitalized 12. They reportedly were relocated to a United Nations transit center.

The status of the pastor and his 14-year-old daughter who were abducted is unclear. The pastor’s wife believes her husband has been killed and her daughter forced into marriage with a Muslim man.

Burma is No. 19 and Bangladesh No. 38 on Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List of countries where Christians experience “very high persecution.” (MS)