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Two people were killed when a mortar shell fired from the Myanmar side across the border exploded in Ghumdhum union of Bandarban's Naikhongchhari upazila Monday afternoon.
The deceased were identified as Hosneara Begum, 45, wife of Badsha Mia of ward 4 of the upazila, and Rohingya worker Nabi Hossain, 65, who was working on construction at Badsha’s building as a hired labourer.
Confirming the matter to The Business Post, Naikhongchhari Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdul Mannan said, “Two people died when a mortar shell from Myanmar landed on Hosneara's house and exploded around 2:30pm.”
Over the last two days, bullets and mortar shells have been fired into Bangladesh as gun battles between Myanmar troops and an armed group called the Arakan Army escalated in the Rakhine State of Myanmar.
At this time, at least 106 soldiers of Myanmar's paramilitary Border Guard Police (BGP) have taken refuge in Bangladesh, fleeing their posts amid reports of heavy gunfights between the government troops and the rebels in the junta-run country.
This was confirmed by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Public Relations Officer Md Shariful Islam.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud said, “The Myanmar government has approached the Bangladesh mission there for taking back its BGP members who entered Bangladesh territory to save themselves amid the conflict with the Arakan Army.
“There is communication from both ends.”
The length of Bangladesh’s border with Myanmar is about 283km. Major parts of it fell in Bandarban and Cox's Bazar districts. Several groups, including the Arakan Army, have intensified fighting in the border areas of Bangladesh and India for several weeks.
They have collectively launched an operation against Myanmar’s military.
In the context of the conflict, the district administration and law enforcement forces of Cox's Bazar and Bandarban have announced a high alert in the border areas of Bangladesh.
Amid the ongoing unrest along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, the academic activities of five government primary schools in Naikhongchhari Upazila of Bandarban district have been suspended.
The Primary and Mass Education Ministry issued a notice in this regard, signed by its Deputy Secretary Akterunnahar, on Monday. The government made this decision considering the safety of the teachers and students of those schools in Ghumdhum union.
Meanwhile, panic has gripped Bangladeshis living near the Myanmar border as bullets and rockets from the ongoing conflict between the junta and rebels have been hitting people, vehicles, and buildings across the border. Many have even left their home seeking safe shelter.
Previously, four Bangladeshis were reported injured as a house collapsed following a mortar shell explosion, and a CNG auto rickshaw suffered damage.
