In the face of continuous gunfire and mortar shelling inside Myanmar close to the Bangladesh border for six hours on Saturday, local authorities have evacuated 30 families in Dochari and Ghumdhum unions of Bandarban's Naikhongchhari upazila.
The sound and fury on the Myanmar side of the international border, where the Myanmar army is engaged in fighting a well-resourced insurgency forged by the Arakan Army, started again today, after a week's lull.
Firing resumed on the Myanmar side of Bangladesh's border – from Dochari to Ghumdhum union – at 1pm and continued till 6:30pm, 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.
Md Rahman, a local of Dochari union's Jamchhari, said 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."
Naikhongchhari Sadar union parishad chairman Nurul Absar Imon, who is now in Jamchhari, said: "For several days, there was no firing in the area but it suddenly started again at 1pm today and continued till 6:30pm, sending a panic wave among the locals."
"At least 15 rounds of stray bullets from Myanmar landed in Bangladesh. Thirty families whose houses are too close to the border were evacuated to safety amid heavy shelling and firing inside Myanmar. And there was no casualty inside Bangladesh," Imon added.
