The United Nations (UN) has restricted movement of its staff and their family members in the southeastern coastal district Cox's Bazar because of security concerns, reported the Daily Star on Tuesday.

The restriction came after the UN took a decision to raise the security warning to level two after a meeting on Oct. 28 in its Dhaka office, and asked its staff to take permission from its security officials before going anywhere within the district.

The decision was taken following two attacks on UN staff at theKutupalong Rohingya refugee camp in the district by a group of refugees and outsiders. UN assistance to the camp has also been suspended since Oct. 13 due to security reasons.

A World Food Program (WFP) field official, Mehnaz Khan, was manhandled by the refugees at Kutupalong camp on Sept. 23.

Since the attack a group of refugees enforced strikes in eight schools and closed down a sewing camp for women refugees at the camp.

On Oct. 12, as a UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) car was traveling from Teknaf to Cox's Bazaar carrying non-BangladeshiUN staff, including the head of WFP Dhaka office Douglas Coutts, it was surrounded by hundreds of refugees opposing repatriation infront of Kutupalong camp. Police later escorted out the UN team.

"Our staff no longer feel safe. Until the safety level is restored we cannot reenter the camp and provide assistance," Jorgen Lissner, resident coordinator of the UN in Bangladesh was quoted as saying.

Lissner said the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management has been informed about the incidents.

"We are hoping that they (the ministry) will take some steps toensure security at the camps so that our staff can go back and assist the refugees," added Lissner.

Superintendent of Police (SP) of Cox's Bazaar Syed Towfique Uddin Ahmed said criminals at Kutupalong camp are creating troubleand raids would be carried out soon to arrest them.

According to the UNHCR, over 250,000 Bengali-speaking Myanmar Muslim ethnic minorities, popularly known as Rohingyas, took shelter in Bangladesh in 1991-1992 to escape from the reported oppression by the military rulers of Myanmar.

Many of them were repatriated after an accord signed between the two countries in 1992 and under the supervision and rehabilitation program of the UNHCR, while over 19,000 refugees are still waiting for repatriation in Bangladesh.

Source: Xinhua