February 5, 2024
DHAKA – The sound of gunfire in Myanmar near Ghumdhum border in Bandarban’s Naikhhongchhari upazila has stopped this morning following a two-day gunfight between Myanmar troops and the armed group called Arakan Army.
The gunfight continued from 3:00am to 5:00pm yesterday and from 11:00pm yesterday to 5:00am today with a six-hour break, a local official said.
People of the area speculated that the lack of firing this morning indicated that the Arakan Army has completely occupied the camp of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP) opposite Ghumdhum union.
They said all those who were in the camp till yesterday have already taken refuge in Bandarban.
So far, 95 BGP members crossed over into Bangladesh through the Tumbru border and are under the custody of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), said BGB’s Public Relations Officer Md Shariful Islam this morning.
Ghumdhum Union Parishad Chairman Mohammad AKM Jahangir Aziz told The Daily Star, “The situation is calm since 5:00am today. There is no sound of gunshots.”
Amid the gun battle, bullets and mortar shells crossed the border yesterday, leaving at least three Bangladeshi citizens injured.