Rohinyga Refugee News (RRN)
Rohingya Refugee News (RRN) is an independent journalism platform founded and edited by Shafiur Rahman, focused on original reporting and analysis on the Rohingya crisis, Arakan (Rakhine) State, and Bangladesh’s refugee policies.
RRN documents political, humanitarian, and security dynamics that are often marginalised or simplified in mainstream coverage - including camp governance, humanitarian administration, armed group activity, and the regional consequences of prolonged refugee containment. The project is grounded in sustained field reporting and long-term engagement with Rohingya communities, rather than episodic crisis coverage.
Reporting published on Rohingya Refugee News (RRN) examines issues such as UNHCR and WFP policy decisions, conditions on Bhasan Char, events in No Man’s Land, aid inactivation, Bangladesh’s refugee management system, and the activities of armed actors including the Arakan Army (AA), ARSA, RSO, ANDF, ARA, and others. The work combines written investigations, interviews, images, and video to provide careful, evidence-based documentation of developments that matter.
Shafiur Rahman has visited the Rohingya refugee camps more than 30 times since 2016. In 2017, he produced Testimonies of a Massacre: Tula Toli, a short documentary that premiered at Sheffield DocFest and was later featured by the BBC and CNN. His reporting and commentary have appeared in The Guardian, The Diplomat, The Washington Post, Dhaka Tribune, Counterpoint BD, The Daily Star, The Quint, Narratively, and Southeast Asia Globe. He also writes regular columns for DVB English News and Dhaka Tribune.
Although long resident in the United Kingdom, he is currently unable to return to Bangladesh due to security risks associated with his reporting. His situation has been documented by international press-freedom organisations, including PEN America’s Writers at Risk programme and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which has referenced his case in reporting on threats and harassment facing journalists from Bangladesh.
Related documentation: Committee to Protect Journalists (June 2024; February 2025); PEN America (Writers at Risk).
Why subscribe?
Subscribing gives you access to in-depth stories, exclusive updates, and the occasional Inside the Lines newsletter, focused on armed group activity. Your support helps sustain this independent, ground-level reporting.
What others say about Rohingya Refugee News (RRN)
Rohingya Refugee News (RRN) has been cited and engaged with by diplomats, academics, and humanitarian practitioners working closely on Myanmar and the Rohingya crisis.
There’s no shortage of information about the Rohingya, but incorrect reporting and deliberate disinformation are growing problems. That’s where Rohingya Refugee News stands out. Its perspectives on what’s happening on the ground are truly indispensable.
— Laetitia van den Assum, Formerly member of Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, Myanmar and Dutch ambassador
Shafiur Rahman’s Rohingya Refugee News is an absolutely invaluable resource for anyone interested in understanding the situation of the Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh. It is by far the most authoritative, incisive and well-evidenced reporting available. As a scholar of the Rohingya genocide I rely on Rohingya Refugee News for its reliable, accurate and up-to-the-minute documentary evidence and analysis. Shafiur Rahman is a brilliant journalist who has unique and trusted access to a very wide range of sources on the ground. An expert on the politics of both Bangladesh and Myanmar, his political analyses reveal an enormous depth of knowledge and understanding and are essential reading for NGOs, scholars and policy makers.
— Professor Penny Green, Professor of Law and Globalisation at Queen Mary, University of London and a Director of the International State Crime Initiative
For decades, the Rohingya population of Myanmar have been oppressed, abused, exploited, attacked and displaced. The majority of them have sought refuge in Bangladesh, while large numbers have also been scattered across Asia and the rest of the globe. Rohingya Refugee News is an invaluable and reliable source of information and insights on the plight of these people, the largest stateless community in the world.
— Jeff Crisp, Refugee Studies Centre, Oxford. Former Head, Policy Development & Evaluation Service, UNHCR
Whether you’re a free or paid subscriber, you’ll gain unique insider perspectives on the evolving situation in Myanmar, Bangladesh and within the Rohingya community. Thank you for being part of this journey.
Visit my Author Page: Dhaka Tribune, The Diplomat, Counterpoint BD
Find me elsewhere
• X (Twitter): @shafiur
• LinkedIn: /in/shafiur
• Instagram: @shafiur
• Website: srdocs.net
• Bluesky: @rohingyarefugee.news
