The firing on the Myanmar side of the international border started again Sunday, striking fear inside the locals from Dochari to Sadar unions of Bandarban's Naikhongchhari upazila.

Firing resumed on the Myanmar side of the Bangladesh border, where the Myanmar army is engaged in fighting a well-resourced insurgency forged by the Arakan Army, around 11:30am and continued for three hours, gripping the locals with fear.

Gunshots and explosions have often been heard in the border areas for a few months as the country's military has clashed with separatist groups.

"Fortunately, no casualties were reported inside Bangladesh. More than 200 families living on the edge of the border were asked to move to safety. And many panicked locals went to their relatives' houses," Dochari union Chairman Muhammad Imran said.

In the face of continuous gunfire and mortar shelling inside Myanmar close to the Bangladesh border for six hours after a week's lull on Saturday, local authorities evacuated 30 families in Dochari and Ghumdhum unions of Naikhongchhari to safety.

At least 15 rounds of stray bullets from Myanmar landed in Bangladesh yesterday. Fortunately, there was no casualty inside Bangladesh.

Naikhongchhari Sadar union parishad chairman Nurul Absar Imon said: "Before 11:30am Sunday, there was no firing in the area. But it suddenly started again today. Families whose houses are too close to the border were requested to move to safety."

The Arakan Army, an ethnic armed organisation based in Rakhine state, had stopped taking up positions near the border for a long time, instead operating deep inside Myanmar. But over the past week, the Arakan Army has positioned itself closer to the border.