Two Suspected Rohingya Refugee Traffickers Killed in Bangladesh - Reports

Human trafficking of Rohingya refugees is reportedly on the rise again, according to Bangladeshi police officials. On Tuesday, police rescued 34 Rohingyas bound for Malaysia, a day after 69 people were saved. Last week, 23 teenage Rohingya girls who were about to be trafficked to Malaysia were freed in Bangladesh, according to media reports.

New Delhi (Sputnik): Two suspected Rohingya human traffickers have been neutralised by police in Bangladesh while rescuing 103 refugees who were being made to undertake a perilous sea voyage to Malaysia, media reports, citing AFP, said.

The incident occurred in Bangladesh's southeast Teknaf area where the Rohingya duo was shot down outside a refugee camp on Tuesday evening.

"They opened fire at the police. We fired back in retaliation", a police official told AFP.

According to the outlet, it was the first time in four years that suspected human traffickers had been killed in an encounter in Bangladesh's southeast.

It is being reported that there has been a rise in human smuggling of Rohingya refugees over the last few months. 

Tens of thousands of Rohingyas from Bangladeshi camps are reportedly being trafficked by boat to the relatively prosperous Malaysia, usually between November and April when the seas are calmer. 

Rohingya Muslims are originally from Myanmar, but millions of them fled the country amid an ethno-religious conflict in 2017. Currently, over 1.1 million Rohingya reside in Cox Bazar refugee camps.