Nine killed in Bangladesh refugee camp clashes

At least nine people, including three children and two women, were burnt to death and 30 injured Saturday in a fire during a series of violent and chaotic clashes at a refugee camp in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka.

The clashes erupted following altercation over blasting crackers on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat, the night of divine blessings for the Muslims, Xinhua reported.

"At least nine Biharis were burnt to death as several houses were set to fire during the clashes," an official said.

"It's not clear to us at all whether the clash, which spilled over into the other nearby Bihari camps, involved locals and camp inmates or was between those living in the camps," the official added.

The camps in Dhaka's Mirpur shelter thousands of Urdu-speaking Muslims who prefer to call themselves "stranded Pakistanis" and keenly interested in returning to Pakistan.