Panic in Ghumdhum as fresh gunfight starts in Myanmar near zero line

The Daily Star Digital Report, Bangladesh,  3 February 2024

After remaining eerily quiet for two days, fresh gun fighting on the Myanmar side along the border of Ghumdhum union in Naikhongchhari of Bandarban started this afternoon.

Sound of fresh gunshots and the explosion of mortar shells on the Myanmar side had been heard from the Tambru area from around 3:00pm and continued till 5:00pm, said Ghumdhum Union Parishad member Shafiqul Islam.

This situation has been calm for the last two days since Thursday early morning; he said adding that now it has become violent again.

People have been feeling insecure and terrorized since the gunfight started in the daytime which usually started during the night for the last few weeks, he said.

Violent clashes have been going on between the Myanmar military junta and the Arakan Army, an armed ethnic group fighting as part of an alliance in Rakhine state of Myanmar since October 27 last year.

The windshield of a CNG run three-wheeler was broken by a bullet coming from Myanmar side when the vehicle was moving through Uttarpara road in Tambru around half-kilometre away from zero line, Mainuddin, a resident of Tambru area.

However, no one was injured in the incident, he said.

UP member Shafiqul also confirmed the news.

"Sound of over 100 round gunshots and the explosion of three mortar shells I had heard from my shop at Tambru Bazar during the gun battle in Myanmar, said Mohammed Shafiul Alam, owner of a tailoring shop at the Bazar.

"I was frightened and shut my shop immediately and came back to my home" he added.

People closed their shops at Tambru bazar after the gunfight started.

People living along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border stretching from Bandarban's Naikhongchhari to Cox's Bazar's Teknaf are in constant fear due to the fight between the Myanmar military junta and the Arakan Army on this border intensified in recent weeks.

For the past several days, hundreds of people who live near the zero line along the border in Ghumdhum have been staying elsewhere out of fear.

Photo:​ Benar News