Protection In Danger Monthly News March 2023

 

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Protection in Danger Monthly News Brief

March 2023

Latest Data Release

Data on incidents of violence affecting protection of IDPs and refugees between January 2020 to January 2023 is now available for download on HDX. The dataset does not yet include incidents reported in this News Brief. Registered HDX user? Follow us for the latest dataset updates.

Past editions: February; January; December; All.

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Safety, security and access incidents

Incidents of threats and violence in refugee and IDP settings.

Africa

Madagascar

11 March 2023: Off the coast of Ankazomborona municipality, Marovoay district, Boeny region, a boat carrying 47 migrants capsized whilst en route to France’s Mayotte island, prompting a search-and-rescue operation by the local maritime authority. At least 22 people drowned, whilst 23 were saved. Two people remained missing. Sources: New Age and Reuters

Mali

09 March 2023: At a refugee camp in Bawa, near Bagoundie, Gao region, gunmen shot and killed five people and wounded one - all brothers. Source: ACLED1

Sudan

08 March 2023: In El Fasher city, North Darfur state, state authorities suspended the works of an LNGO providing support to victims of sexual violence, including IDPs. Source: Radio Dabanga

27 March 2023: In the Al Alagaya Refugee Camp, White Nile state, militia attacked and wounded three refugees in the camp after they refused to sell their relief supplies to militia. Source: ACLED1

Asia

Bangladesh

03 March 2023: In Camp 19, Ukhia Refugee Camp, Ukhia upazila, Cox's Bazar district, Chittagong division, around 10-15 Rohingya youth kidnapped a 35-year-old male from his house and shot him dead. Source: New Age

05 March 2023: In Camp 11, Cox’s Bazar Refugee Camp, Ukhia upazila, Cox’s Bazar district, Chittagong division, unidentified perpetrators deliberately set fires at different locations simultaneously, which burned through some 2,800 bamboo and tarpaulin shelters, leaving about 15,000 Rohingya refugees homeless. Within three hours, the blaze destroyed water centres, medical and testing facilities, and at least 21 learning centres. Sources: BBC I and BBC II

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08 March 2023: In 2-East Camp, Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Ukhia upazila, Cox’s Bazar district, Chittagong division, a Rohingya leader was shot dead in front of his shelter by suspected gunmen of the Arakan Salvation Army. Source: New Age

As reported on 14 March 2023: The Bangladeshi and Chinese Governments, and Myanmar’s State Administration Council (SAC), have negotiated a pilot project to repatriate around 1,000 Rohingyas from Cox’s Bazar’s refugee camps to Myanmar’s Ngar Khu Ya and Hla Pho Khaung re-entry centres, Rakhine state. Activists fear that returnees would likely end up staying in such centres for years, without the possibility to return to their areas of origin. Previous attempts to encourage the return of Rohingyas to Myanmar have been met with resistance and have been unsuccessful. Source: Radio Free Asia

15 March 2023: In Camp 8, Balukhali Refugee Camp, Ukhia upazila, Cox's Bazar district, Chittagong division, a 35-year-old Rohingya male volunteer was fatally shot by two suspected gunmen. Police have since held a Rohingya man for his suspected role in the murder, whilst searching for the other perpetrator. Source: New Age

18 March 2023: Near the G-7 Block, Moynarghona Refugee Camp, Ukhia upazila, Cox's Bazar district, Chittagong division, a 27-year-old Rohingya man and resident of D-9 Block was shot by unidentified perpetrators. He was rushed to the camp’s MSF Hospital, and transferred to the Ukhia Upazila Health Complex, where doctors declared him dead. Source: New Age

21 March 2023: In Camp 13, Balukhali Refugee Camp, Ukhia upazila, Cox's Bazar district, Chittagong division, some 15 to 20 armed perpetrators shot three Rohingya men, killing two, aged 30 and 32, and wounding the other, aged 28. Source: New Age

Myanmar

As reported on 21 February 2023: In Kayah state, SAC forces confiscated food and medicine at several security checkpoints along major land routes. Source: Radio Free Asia

27 March 2023: In Demoso township, Loikaw district, Kayah state, SAC forces fired artillery shells at an IDP camp, killing a 70-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman, and wounding four others. Source: Radio Free Asia

Thailand

30 March 2023: In Nong Prue town, Bang Lamung district, Chonburi province, police arrested 63 Chinese members of China’s Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church and UNHCR-registered asylum seekers, including 35 children, for overstaying their visa. All adults, alongside their children, were fined and released on 31 March. Source: Radio Free Asia

Europe

Italy

26 February 2023: Off the coast of Crotone city and commune, Calabria region, a boat overloaded with more than 200 migrants and asylum seekers capsized amid rough seas, prompting a search-and-rescue operation by the Italian Coast Guard. At least 73 people, including a newborn and children, drowned, whilst 80 were rescued. The body of the 74th victim, a girl aged five or six, was discovered on 11 March. Sources: New Age I and New Age II

10-11 March 2023: Off the coast of Crotone city and commune, Calabria region, a boat carrying 487 asylum seekers and migrants found itself in distress amid rough seas, prompting a rescue operation by the Italian Coast Guard, who brought the vessel safely to the port of Crotone. Source: New Age

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10-11 March 2023: Off the coast of Roccella Ionica city and commune, Reggio Calabria metropolitan area, Calabria region, a boat carrying 500 asylum seekers and migrants found itself in distress amid rough seas, prompting a rescue operation by the Italian Coast Guard, who brought the vessel safely to the port of Reggio Calabria. Source: New Age

10-11 March 2023: Off the coast of Roccella Ionica city and commune, Reggio Calabria metropolitan area, Calabria region, a boat carrying 379 asylum seekers and migrants found itself in distress amid rough seas, prompting a rescue operation by the Italian Coast Guard, who brought the vessel safely to the port of August. Source: New Age

Turkey

11 March 2023: Off the coast of Didim town, Aydin province, a Greece-bound rubber dinghy carrying 31 asylum seekers and migrants found itself in distress amid rough seas, prompting a rescue operation by the Turkish Coast Guard. At least five people drowned, whilst 11 were rescued. Five survivors managed to reach Greece’s Farmakonisi island. Source: New Age

Middle East and North Africa

Lebanon

02 March 2023: In the Ain Al-Hilweh Refugee Camp, Sidon district, South governorate, clashes erupted between Fatah and Islamist groups, leaving at least one Palestinian man killed and seven others injured. Source: Al-Monitor

Libya

12 March 2023: Off the coast of Benghazi city and district, Cyrenaica region, an Italy-bound vessel carrying around 47 asylum seekers and migrants capsized, prompting a search-and-rescue operation by the Libyan Coast Guard, merchant ships, and FRONTEX. At least 30 people went missing and 17 were rescued. Sources: Al Jazeera, Malta Today, New Age and The New Arab

25 March 2023: Off the coast of Libya, in international waters, a vessel of the Libyan Coast Guard fired shots in the air near the humanitarian rescue ship SOS Mediterranee, as the latter was trying to respond to a distress call from approximately 80 asylum seekers and migrants on a rubber boat, forcing the rescue craft to withdraw for its own safety. The boat was forced back to Libya. Sources: SOS Mediterranee and The New Arab

Occupied Palestinian Territories

01 March 2023: In the Aqbat Jabr Refugee Camp, Jericho governorate, West Bank, clashes erupted between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters amid an Israeli military raid. Several houses were hit by anti-tank missiles. Three people were injured, including one person who was struck by a bullet in the head. Six Palestinians, including a 22-year-old suffering from gunshot wounds in the abdomen, were detained. The latter died whilst in custody. Ambulances were prevented from reaching the area. Sources: Personal Communication and The New Arab

04 March 2023: In the Mukhayyam al Arrub refugee camp, Hebron governorate, West Bank, Israeli soldiers opened fire and injured a 12-year-old Palestinian in the leg. Source: ACLED1

As reported on 06 March 2023: In the Aqbat Jabr Refugee Camp, Jericho governorate, West Bank, Palestinian protesters threw Molotov cocktails at Israeli forces amid a military raid. Source: Quds News Network

06 March 2023: In the Ayda Refugee Camp, Bethlehem governorate, West Bank, Israeli forces fired teargas at Palestinian youths. Source: Quds News Network

07 March 2023: In the Jenin Refugee Camp, Jenin city and governorate, West Bank, Israeli troops surrounded a house and fired shoulder-launched missiles during an arrest raid. In response, the

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armed group Jenin Brigade opened fire and launched explosives, injuring several soldiers and downing two Israeli drones. Gunfire hit ambulances, including one belonging to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, and a teargas canister exploded inside an MSF-supported hospital. Medics were prevented from reaching the wounded. At least five men in their 20s and a 49-year-old man were killed. 26 more were injured, two critically. A 14-year-old boy who had suffered gunshot wounds subsequently died on 09 March. Sources: Al Jazeera I, Al Jazeera II, Artzen Zonder Grenzer Nederland, BBC and The Guardian

07 March 2023: In the Askar Refugee Camp, Nablus city and governorate, West Bank, Israeli forces entered a building and arrested three Palestinian men, including two sons of a 49-year-old man killed in the Jenin Refugee Camp. Source: Al Jazeera

16 March 2023: In the Jenin Refugee Camp, Jenin city and governorate, West Bank, Israeli forces killed three male Palestinian fighters, aged 37, 29 and 29, during a military raid. Palestinian youth threw stones at the Israeli soldiers as they withdrew, to which Israeli forces responded with live gunfire. A 14-year-old boy who was passing by was killed. Source: The New Arab

21 March 2023: In the Qaddura Refugee Camp, Ramallah/al-Bireh governorate, West Bank, confrontations erupted between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian youth, as the former conducted a house search for a former Palestinian prisoner. Israeli soldiers fired volleys of teargas canisters at a medical compound, affecting patients inside the cardiology, cardiothoracic and paediatric wards. Source: The New Arab

27 March 2023: In the Aqbat Jabr Refugee Camp, Jericho governorate, West Bank, six Palestinians, including a child, were injured amid a military raid by Israeli forces. Sources: The New Arab I and The New Arab II

Syrian Arab Republic

09 March 2023: In the fifth section of Al-Hol camp, Al Hasakah governorate, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched a security operation and detained several people. Source: ACLED1

10 March 2023: In the fifth section of Al-Hol camp, Al Hasakah governorate, SDF launched a security operation and detained several children while raiding IS families’ tents. Source: ACLED1

12 March 2023: In the fifth section of Al-Hol camp, Al Hasakah governorate, SDF launched a security operation and detained three individuals. Source: ACLED1

30 March 2023: In the fifth section of Al-Hol camp, Al Hasakah governorate, SDF launched a security operation and detained 15 people. Source: ACLED1

31 March 2023: In the fifth section of Al-Hol camp, Al Hasakah governorate, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched a security operation during which two people were killed and several others were injured. Source: ACLED1

31 March 2023: In the Yadudeh camp, Dara’a governorate, gunmen shot and killed a displaced man accused of dealing drugs in the camp. Source: ACLED1

Tunisia

09 March 2023: Off the coast of Sfax city and governorate, a boat carrying asylum seekers and migrants of sub-Saharan African origin capsized, prompting a search-and-rescue operation by the Tunisian Coast Guard. 14 people drowned, whilst 54 were rescued. Source: New Age

22 March 2023: Off the coast of Sfax city and governorate, an Italy-bound vessel carrying 38 migrants, mostly from Ivory Coast, capsized. Five people were rescued, five others drowned, and 28 reportedly drowned. Sources: The New Arab

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As reported on 23 March 2023: In El-Ouardia neighbourhood, Tunis, migrants inside a reception centre run by the Interior Ministry were forced to sign repatriation papers under emotional and physical abuse. Source: The New Arab

26 March 2023: Off the coast of Mahdia city and governorate, an Italy-bound vessel carrying migrants and asylum seekers capsized, prompting a search-and-rescue operation by the Tunisian Coast Guard. Five people were rescued. Eight bodies were recovered. 11 remained missing. Source: The New Arab

26 March 2023: Off the coast of Sfax city and governorate, two vessels carrying sub-Saharan African migrants capsized, prompting a search-and-rescue operation by the Tunisian Coast Guard. A fishing trawler recovered 19 bodies. Sources: New Age and The New Arab

29 March 2023: In Tunis, police stormed a sit-in by migrants and refugees in front of the UNHCR building to disperse the protesting crowd. Sources: Personal Communication and The New Arab

United Arab Emirates

As reported on 15 March 2023: In Abu Dhabi, local authorities have been detaining at least 2,400 Afghan asylum seekers at two converted apartment complexes known as the Emirates Humanitarian City and the Tasameem Workers City. Sources: BBC and The New Arab

1 Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) database attribution policy. Accessed 07 April 2023

This Monthly News Brief comprises reported threats and incidents of violence affecting protection of IDPs and refugees. It is part of the Protection in Danger project by Insecurity Insight. It is prepared from information available in local, national and international news outlets and online databases. The incidents reported are not a complete nor a representative list of all events of threats and incidents of violence affecting protection of IDPs and refugees and have not been independently verified. All decisions made, on the basis of, or with consideration to, such information remains the responsibility of their respective organisations.

Insecurity Insight. 2023. Protection in Danger Monthly News Brief, March 2023. Switzerland: Insecurity Insight. bit.ly/Mar2023ProMNB

Insecurity Insight – Monitoring incidents around the world affecting aid, health care, education, and protection.

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