The clashes between the Myanmar military forces and rebel groups in Myanmar鈥檚 Rakhine sparked fresh panic in bordering areas of Teknaf upazila headquarters and neighbouring villages in Cox鈥檚 Bazar amid the sound of firing from heavy weapons and mortar shells.
Local residents said that the sound of gunfire between Saturday evening and Sunday morning was louder than in recent days.
Abdus Salam, a member of ward no 9 of Sabrang union parishad said that after a gap of a few days, the sound of a loud explosion was heard again from inside Myanmar, and many people聽 in bordering areas spent a sleepless night on Saturday due to fear.
Fariha Yasmin, a member of the reserved seat for women in the same union, said that the sound of loud explosions from Myanmar triggered panic on Shahpari Island in Teknaf. The sound was larger than in the past, she said.聽
Teknaf-2 BGB battalion commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Mohiuddin Ahmed, said that BGB remained on maximum alert so that no one could enter Bangladesh.
A tense situation has also been prevailing along the border between Bandarban鈥檚 Naikhyangchari and Cox鈥檚 Bazar鈥檚 Teknaf amid fierce fighting, skirmishes, and gunfire between the armed forces of the military junta and insurgent groups inside Myanmar since February.
A Bangladeshi woman and a Rohingya man were killed by a shell fired from Myanmar on February 5, while several others sustained injuries from a recent shellfire, prompting the displacement of border village residents by the government.
Bangladeshi fisherman Hossain Ali, 48, who was injured by a bullet allegedly fired by the Myanmar armed group Arakan Army while fishing in the river Naf, died on May 28 while undergoing treatment at Chittagong Medical College Hospital.