DHAKA, Bangladesh 

Recent US government funding cuts are creating more space for Rohingya militants in refugee camps in Bangladesh, which will significantly worsen the security of the refugees, a human rights group said in a report Tuesday.

The 78-page report by Fortify Rights said members of Rohingya militant groups in Bangladesh killed 22 people in 2021, 42 in 2022, 90 in 2023 and at least 65 in 2024.

It found “reasonable grounds” to believe that certain acts committed by militants against the Rohingya constitute war crimes due to a demonstrable “nexus” between the criminal acts in Bangladesh and the armed conflict in Myanmar.

The report recommended that the Bangladesh government and international justice mechanisms investigate crimes and prosecute those responsible.

“Rohingya armed groups are wreaking havoc in Bangladesh and Myanmar with near complete impunity,” said John Quinley, director at Fortify Rights. “War crimes are usually committed within the immediate theater of armed conflict but, in this case, specific crimes in Bangladesh are directly connected to the war in Myanmar and constitute war crimes.”

Bangladesh is hosting more than 1.2 million Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar who fled a crackdown in Myanmar in 2017. The UN said the Rohingya completely depend on foreign humanitarian funding.

The US policy shift to reduce USAID operations has put the Rohingya response in trouble.

The World Food Program largely depends on USAID funds, and it said without immediate funding, rations for more than 1 million Rohingya refugees will have to be halved from $12.50 per person per month to just $6, starting April 1.