Episode: KPN 20-01-2023

One killed in gunfight at Rohingya camp on Tambru Border

A Rohingya man was killed and another injured in a firing incident at Konarpara Rohingya Camp near the Tambru border in Bandarban’s Naikhongchhari upazila yesterday.

Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), two armed groups in Myanmar, are behind the firing, said Dil Mohammad, a community leader of Konarpara Rohingya Camp.

Multiple shooting incidents have taken place at the camp, situated on the zero line, since 6:00am, he added.

Hamid Ullah, 27, a Rohingya man, suffered bullet injuries. He was rushed to the MSF-run hospital in Kutupalong where doctors declared him dead, said Sheikh Mohammad Ali, officer-in-charge of Ukhia Police Station.

The body was sent to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital morgue for an autopsy, he added.

Mohib Ullah, 25, another Rohingya man, also suffered bullet wounds. He was sent to the hospital for better treatment, the OC further said.

“Both of them were in special-coloured attire. They could be members of a terrorist insurgent group in Myanmar,” Mohammad Ali said.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Rohingya leader Dil Mohammad also said, “The shooting incidents might have happened over establishing supremacy.”

Rohingyas living in the area are now gripped by panic as firing continues on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, he added.

Ghumdhum Union Parishad Chairman Jahangir Aziz said locals have been gunshots since morning. “We cannot say what is going on there but we are panicked.”

Lt Col Md Saiful Islam Chowdhury, commander of BGB 34 Battalion, could not be reached over the phone for comments after repeated attempts.

Naikhongchhari Upazila Nirbahi Officer Romen Sharma, however, said the BGB or others did not have any jurisdiction to intervene as per the international rules as the firing incidents were taking place on zero line.

The BGB members are vigilant in the border area, he added.

Meanwhile, some unidentified criminals set some houses on fire at the camp around 4:00pm.

Many Rohingyas fled their houses after the fire and took shelter near Tambru Bazaar. The district administration was taking steps to send them back to the camp.

Tagged as: Balukhali, Burma-Bangladesh border, RRRC, Rohingya, IDP camp in Arakan, APBn, Bangadesh refugee camp, Rohingya Refugee, Arakan Army, Maungdaw, Rohingya refugee camp, Military Council force, Buthidaung, BGP, Rathedaung, BGB, Burma, Akyab, Myanmar, Kutupalong, Arakan, Teknaf, Rakhine, Cox's Bazar, Sittwe.