By Poppy McPherson and Ruma Paul

(Reuters) – For years, Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah, one of the most prominent advocates for the persecuted Muslim minority from Myanmar, predicted he would be killed by the hardliners who regularly sent him death threats.

“If I die, I’m fine. “I will give up my life,” he said to Reuters, in 2019, in his office located in a bamboo hut at one of the Bangladesh refugee camps. There’s no problem in a sudden ‘accident. Everyone who works in community gives up his life.

He was shot to death in his office, where he had been holding community meetings on Wednesday night. His brother Habib Ullah claimed that he saw the shooting and blamed the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, an armed group operating in the camps.

In the video, Habib Ullah stated that they killed him because he was the leader. All Rohingya follow him. Before opening fire, “they said he cannot be a leader of Rohingya and there cannot be any leaders for Rohingya,” he said.

Reuters couldn’t independently verify the account.

Mohibullah is known for being a moderate advocate who argued that the Rohingya return to Myanmar to regain their rights, which they had been denied after decades of persecution. The leader of Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, (ARSPH), he was a Rohingya activist who was able to report on atrocities committed against them in Myanmar and provide them a platform in international discussions about their future.

According to a police officer, Mohibullah was in his mid-40s.

They fired five shots of ammunition and then fled the scene. RafiqulIslam, Cox’s Bazar’s deputy chief police officer said that our search is ongoing to find the killers. Rafiqul Islam, deputy police chief in Cox’s Bazar stated that additional police were present at the camps.

ARSA representatives, who claim to be ethnic freedom fighters, were unable to reach him for comment.

The killing has ignited grief and anger in the camps, the world’s largest refugee settlement, where some residents interviewed by Reuters say the murder is the latest evidence of mounting violence as armed gangs and extremists vie for power.

Amnesty International’s South Asia Campaigner Saad Hammadi said that violence was increasing.

“Domestic drug cartels and armies have taken hostages, killed many people.” It is imperative that the authorities take urgent action to stop further bloodshed.

The camps house more than one million Rohingya, many of whom fled Myanmar in 2017. This was after a 2017 military coup that led to the destruction of their country.

Myanmar denied genocide. It claimed it was conducting a legit campaign against the insurgents that attacked police posts.

A refugee said that Mohib Ullah was “the voice of the Rohingya” and asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal. He lived in fear, but never lost heart… Fear is everywhere. Who else would be safe if a leader such as him were shot to death? There is no one else.”

In a message to Reuters, a close friend of the slain leader said that he feared his life.

‘NIGHT GOVERNMENT’

Mohib Ullah came to prominence after going hut to hut in the camps collecting evidence of abuses against Rohingya in Myanmar, including mass killings and gang rapes, that has been shared with international investigators. At the White House, he asked for more rights for Rohingya.

According to one ARSPH leader in 2019, Mohibullah felt threatened by ARSA. These attacks were part of the ongoing army campaign which drove hundreds upon thousands across the border.

Other refugees and he said that militant men with claims of affiliation to ARSA, and other armed bands, rule the camps at night. He also warned women not to break conservative Islamic norms.

Reuters was informed by several Rohingya in recent months that ARSA, and other armed gangs were behind the violence.

A trusted friend stated that Mohib Ullah called ARSA the “night government” on Thursday and continued moving from place-to-place to avoid being targeted. The friend said that the activist requested protection from Bangladeshi authorities and the United Nations.

ARSA (which couldn’t reach him for comment) has denied any responsibility for the crimes committed in these camps.

UNHCR stated in a Thursday statement that it was deeply shocked by Mohib Ullah’s passing and has “enhanced staff presence at the camps to ensure Rohingya refugees can have direct access support services as well as report any concerns.”

RafiqulIslam, the police officer, stated that Mohibullah has not complained about threats to his life or requested protection from police.

He stated, “If that was the case, then we would have been able to consider it.”

Bangladeshi officials declined to comment on requests.

Eva Buzo is an Australian barrister who represented Mohib Ullah in international criminal proceedings against Myanmar. She said she had also pleaded with foreign embassies and U.N refugee agencies in Bangladesh for him to be granted protection.

She claimed that he was allowed to travel for short visits. In 2019 he met Donald Trump at his White House, and spoke to the U.N Human Rights Council. However, he did not leave camp when he had to flee.

According to her, diplomats and U.N representatives “elevated Mohibullah to the status of a moderate Rohingya leader, but no one provided protection for him when he received death threats.”