March 26, 2024
DHAKA – Following a week of calm, gunshots and mortar shell explosions were heard from across the Naf river, suggesting the resumption of fighting between the Myanmar junta and rebel Arakan Army in Rakhine state.
Locals in Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar said gunfighting near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border lasted five hours until 3:00am today and could be heard in Kharankhali, Naya Bazar, Mina Bazar, Kanjor Para, Jimmkhali, Unchiprang, and Lambabil areas of Whykong union, reports our Cox’s Bazar staff correspondent.
Kabir Ahmed, a member of Ward 6 under Whykong Union Parishad, said, “The gunshots could be heard from my house, which is far from the border.
“This ongoing clash is disrupting the day-to-day activities of the people living along the border. Farmers and fishermen have to go to their fields or enclosures every day to work fearing for their lives because of the recurring explosions.”
Earlier, BGB Teknaf-2 Battalion Commander Lt Col Md Mohiuddin Ahmed said, given the circumstances, the border guard members were ready to deal with any sort of security threat that may arise, including border infiltration.
The conflict escalated in early February when Myanmar government forces clashed with the Arakan Army at the Tumbru border in Ghumdhum union under Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban.
Subsequently, a significant number of Myanmar government troops, predominantly comprising Myanmar’s Border Guard Police, sought asylum in Bangladesh in successive waves before being repatriated on February 15.
With the conflict spreading from the Naikhongchhari to the Teknaf border, where many Rohingya populations live in villages bordering Rakhine State, the situation remains volatile.
The ongoing clashes between the Myanmar junta and the Arakan Army have caused tragic incidents on this side of the border as well.
A Bangladeshi woman and a Rohingya man were killed and a child was injured as a mortar shell from across the border in Myanmar exploded in Ghumdhum union of Bandarban’s Naikhongchhari on February 5.