![A massive fire tore through a crowded Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh 2 ap23064410871135 4406d7f4b1be98d306b865d46668a3d04a853f63 s1100 c50](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/03/05/ap23064410871135-4406d7f4b1be98d306b865d46668a3d04a853f63-s1100-c50.jpg)
Rohingya refugees try to salvage their belongings after a major fire in their Balukhali camp at Ukhiya in Cox’s Bazar district, Bangladesh, on March 5, 2023. Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP hide caption
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Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP
![A massive fire tore through a crowded Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh 3 ap23064410871135 4406d7f4b1be98d306b865d46668a3d04a853f63 s1200](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/03/05/ap23064410871135-4406d7f4b1be98d306b865d46668a3d04a853f63-s1200.jpg)
Rohingya refugees try to salvage their belongings after a major fire in their Balukhali camp at Ukhiya in Cox’s Bazar district, Bangladesh, on March 5, 2023.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — A massive fire raced through a crammed refugee camp for Rohingya Muslims in southern Bangladesh on Sunday, leaving thousands homeless, a fire official and the United Nations said.
No casualties were reported immediately at Balukhali camp in Cox’s Bazar district, said Emdadul Haque, a fire service official.
![A massive fire tore through a crowded Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh 4 ap23064430953665 950bc7c4f7143d0231103c26aab8e7c31caf4e80 s1100 c50](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/03/05/ap23064430953665-950bc7c4f7143d0231103c26aab8e7c31caf4e80-s1100-c50.jpg)
Rohingya refugee boys salvage a gas cylinder after a major fire in the Balukhali camp in Bangladesh. Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP hide caption
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Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP
![A massive fire tore through a crowded Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh 5 ap23064430953665 950bc7c4f7143d0231103c26aab8e7c31caf4e80 s1200](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/03/05/ap23064430953665-950bc7c4f7143d0231103c26aab8e7c31caf4e80-s1200.jpg)
Rohingya refugee boys salvage a gas cylinder after a major fire in the Balukhali camp in Bangladesh.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP
The UNHCR in Bangladesh said in a tweet that Rohingya refugee volunteers were responding to the fire with the agency and its partners providing support. It provided no further details.
More than 1 million Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar over several decades, including about 740,000 who crossed the border starting in August 2017, when the Myanmar military launched a brutal crackdown.
![A massive fire tore through a crowded Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh 6 ap23064424293726 224736401bb91f07a6a0ecdfa3fdb149e4ccfd43 s1100 c50](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/03/05/ap23064424293726-224736401bb91f07a6a0ecdfa3fdb149e4ccfd43-s1100-c50.jpg)
Rohingya refugees try to salvage their belongings after a major fire in the heavily cramped Balukhali camp. Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP hide caption
toggle caption
Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP
![A massive fire tore through a crowded Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh 7 ap23064424293726 224736401bb91f07a6a0ecdfa3fdb149e4ccfd43 s1200](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/03/05/ap23064424293726-224736401bb91f07a6a0ecdfa3fdb149e4ccfd43-s1200.jpg)
Rohingya refugees try to salvage their belongings after a major fire in the heavily cramped Balukhali camp.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP
Conditions in Myanmar have worsened since a military takeover in 2021, and attempts to send back the refugees have failed.
Last year, the United States said the oppression of Rohingya in Myanmar amounts to genocide after U.S. authorities confirmed accounts of mass atrocities against civilians by the military in a systematic campaign against the ethnic minority. Muslim Rohingya face widespread discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where most are denied citizenship and many other rights.