Child injured in Teknaf by crossfire following Rakhine clashes and airstrike

A Bangladeshi child was injured by gunfire originating from Myanmar at around 9:00 am on Sunday. The incident took place in the Techi Bridge border area of WhyKong union in Teknaf.

The injured child, Afnan, 11, is the daughter of Jasim Uddin, a resident of the area.

Cox’s Bazar additional superintendent of police (DSB) Alok Biswas told Prothom Alo that the child had been hit by a bullet on Sunday.

Initial reports that the child had died were incorrect, he said adding that she was being taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital.

Earlier, Khoyachang police outpost in-charge sub-inspector Khokon Chandra Rudra told Prothom Alo that the child had been killed by gunfire from across the border and that another person had also been injured. As the news spread, agitated locals blocked the road in protest.

Air strikes, drone attacks, mortar fire and bomb explosions continue unabated in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

For the past three days, the ruling junta’s forces have intensified air attacks on positions of the armed group Arakan Army around Maungdaw Township.

At the same time, three armed Rohingya groups have been engaged in ground clashes with the Arakan Army, further complicating the situation along the border. Powerful explosions across the border are being felt in villages on the Bangladesh side in Teknaf, causing tremors and shaking homes. Bullets fired from across the border have also landed in residential areas, shrimp enclosures and the Naf River.

From Saturday evening until around 9:30 am today, intermittent but intense gunfights and mortar explosions were reported in the Bolibazar area of Rakhine State, opposite the Hoikyang border in Teknaf.

The deafening blasts sent shockwaves through 11 villages in Hoikyang and Palongkhali union of Ukhia, leaving residents shaken.

Many people spent the night awake in fear, while others fled their homes to seek safety elsewhere. In response, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the Coast Guard have stepped up surveillance and patrols along the Naf River and the land border.

Multiple border sources said fighting is continuing across the WhyKong border in Rakhine State between the Arakan Army and several Rohingya armed groups, including the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), the Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), and the Nabi Hossain group. At the same time, Myanmar’s junta forces are carrying out air strikes and bombing raids targeting Arakan Army positions.

Lieutenant Colonel Zahirul Islam, commander of the Ukhia-64 BGB battalion, said the situation across the border and the ongoing gunfire are under close monitoring. Security along the Naf River and the border has been strengthened to prevent any infiltration.

Sirajul Mostafa, a member of WhyKong union Parishad, said that for the past three days, gunfire and bomb explosions have continued day and night in Rakhine State and along the border. Stray bullets have hit homes and farmland on the WhyKong side, leaving residents too terrified to go about their normal activities.

Local fisherman Md Rafiq said that this morning, while at the embankment near WhyKong ’s Techhibridge area, he saw several bullets being fired as gunfire continued across the border. One of the bullets landed on the ground near his feet, narrowly missing him.

Rohingya refugee Md Arman, who recently fled from Rakhine state to a camp in Teknaf, said that there is intense fighting at the Rakhine border between the Rohingya armed groups and the Arakan Army, with occasional airstrikes by the junta. The situation in Rakhine remains tense.

Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Imamul Hafiz Nadim said authorities, including the BGB, are keeping in touch regarding the cross-border gunfire. Meanwhile, residents in border areas are being advised through union councils to stay at a safe distance.