Heavy gun battle again erupts along Bangladesh-Myanmar border
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AA) – After some days of calm, a heavy gun battle between the Myanmar army and the country’s rebel force “Arakan Army” has again started along the border with neighboring Bangladesh.
“There was heavy firing throughout the night and we could not sleep at all in fear,” Mohammad Azizul Haq Rana, a resident of Bangladesh’s Ghumdum border area in Bandarban District, said.
According to official records and media reports, in the last two months at least two Rohingya have been killed and nearly one dozen others, including some Bangladeshi nationals, injured by mortars fired by Myanmar’s forces from across the border.
Since August 2017, nearly 4,500 Rohingya have been living in makeshift tents in Tambru area along the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The Rohingya Muslim minority sought refuge in Bangladesh after a genocidal crackdown against what the UN calls “the most persecuted community in the world” by the Myanmar security forces.
A Rohingya community leader at this camp said that a Rohingya youth was killed, and three others injured during Monday’s fighting.
“Residents of Rakhine State’s Maungdaw Township have reported that a fierce battle has been going on between the Military Council and the Arakan Army in sector 4 of northern Maungdaw township since 01.30 a.m. on October 10,” the Rohingya leader, requesting anonymity, said.
According to him, a 37-year-old Rohingya, Seraz Uddin, was killed while three members of his family were seriously injured in cross-border firing in northern Maungdaw township.
Rohingya families in the area have shifted to nearby safer places amid the escalating gun fighting.
Border Guard Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar commander, Col. Mehedi Hossain Kabir, said they have beefed up security measures along the border and sent messages to Myanmar’s Border Police that their internal war should not affect Bangladesh.
“We have warned the Myanmar forces against firing mortar shells or bullets across the borderline into Bangladesh,” Kabir said, adding that forces are on the alert to avert any further influx of refugees due to the latest clashes.
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