Body recovered from Ukhiya along Myanmar border

The police recovered a body from Rahmater Beel area in Ukhiya along the Myanmar border today.

Mahfuzul Islam, superintendent of Cox’s Bazar police, told Prothom Alo Saturday afternoon that Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the police recovered the body of unidentified person from Rahmater Beel area.

Local farmers informed the BGB members and police after spotting three to four bodies at the Rahmater Beel area on Friday afternoon. The police could not recover the bodies on Friday due to security reasons as the bodies were lying very close to the border.

Clashes have been taking place between Myanmar’s frontier force Border Guard Police (BGP) and insurgent group Arakan Army on the other side of Naikhongchhari border since 2 February. The Arakan Army has reportedly taken over Tumbru right camps and Dhekibonia border outposts from the BGP. Intermittent firing and shelling have been going on since Sunday night.

Amid the clashes in Myanmar, two people were killed in Bangladesh territory as a mortar shell fell at a kitchen of a house at Jalpaitali village under Ghumdhum union in Naikhongchhari on Monday. One of the victims was a Bangladeshi woman while the other was a Rohingya man.

Also, around 330 Myanmar citizens including BGP members and customs officers fled their country and entered Bangladesh. They are currently under the custody of the BGB. Discussion is going on about sending them back.

Meanwhile, police sought a 10-day remand for the 23 Rohingyas arrested with arms. Ukhiya police station’s officer-in-charge Shamim Hossain told Prothom Alo this afternoon that the arrested Rohingyas would be interrogated about the source of the arms recovered from them.

Police arrested these 23 Rohingyas from the Rahmater Beel area on Tuesday. Later, BGB filed a case in connection with the incident.