More than 12,000 Rohingya Muslim minority refugees have been left homeless after a fire destroyed a camp in Cox’s Bazar in southeastern Bangladesh, the UN said.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) said more than 2,000 shelters and more than 90 facilities, including hospitals and education centers, were destroyed by Sunday’s fire.

More than a million Rohingya refugees live in makeshift camps in Cox’s Bazar, most of whom fled Myanmar to escape military persecution in 2017.

Bangladeshi authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, said Mizanur Rahman, inspector in charge of refugees. “Once we get the report, it will be clear whether it was sabotage or not,” he pointed out.

Fires often break out in the overcrowded camps. A massive fire in March 2021 killed at least 15 refugees and destroyed more than 10,000 shelters.

24-year-old refugee Safiur Rahman called on the authorities to offer better accommodation to the displaced. “Our houses were set on fire in Myanmar. Now we are going through the same thing here,” he complained.

Amnesty International has called on the Bangladeshi government to provide safer accommodation for refugees.

“The government should recognize the dangers of keeping large communities in unsafe overcrowded conditions and take steps to provide adequate and safe accommodation to the Rohingya community,” said Yasashmin Kaviratne, South Asia Regional Director at International Amnesia.

Rising crime, difficult living conditions and little chance of returning to Myanmar are pushing more and more Rohingya to flee Bangladesh and seek better prospects in neighboring countries, putting their lives at risk. UN figures show that 348 Rohingya died last year at sea trying to reach Malaysia and Indonesia.