The members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have exchanged fire with Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP) along the border in Bandarban district.
A tense situation was prevailing along the border in Bandarban district following the exchange of firing.
Local people and witnesses said the incident of severe fire exchange for around two hours from 3pm to 5pm caused a severe panic among the inhabitants of Paanchhari in Dochhari.
BGB Director General Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune that Myanmar Border Guard Police launched firing on BGB patrol teams at around 3pm when the BGB members had gone there to receive the body of a BGB member, Naik Mizanur Rahman.
Mizanur was killed by the BGP after his abduction on Wednesday following another fire exchange.
“The body of the BGB member was supposed to hand over to the BGB in the afternoon. But when the BGB members had gone to the proposed place, the BGP members opened fire on the BGB members instead of handing over the body forcing the BGB personnel to fire back,” said the BGB chief.
Maj Gen Aziz, however, said the firing stopped around 30 minutes after it had started, but additional forces have been deployed with intensified patrolling there.
He said: “Immediate after the incident, we have contacted with the higher authorities of Myanmar Border Guard Police, who told us that they have instructed the lower authorities to handover the body, but the lower level officials said they were yet to receive any such instruction.”
Mizanur went missing when a patrolling team of the 31 BGB battalion was shot at, allegedly by the Myanmar frontier guards, near the border pillar number 52 at Paanchhari in Dochhari union on Wednesday.
Earlier on Thursday, the Foreign Ministry summoned Myanmar Ambassador in Dhaka Than MyoMyint and strongly protested the firing and detention of Naik Mizanur.