Boat arrives from Myanmar with gunshot victim in Teknaf

Published by Dhaka Tribune: 17 Feb 2024, 06:57 PM Update : 17 Feb 2024, 08:16 PM

A boat with five people on board, including a woman with bullet wounds, arrived at the jetty of the ShapureeDwip in Teknaf from Myanmar on Saturday.

They reached the jetty around 4pm. The boatmen were also present there. 

Abdus Salam, UP member of ward no 9 of ShapureeDwip in Teknaf, said: “After receiving the information, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) went there to check. We have heard that they have come here for treatment.” 

Local grocer Md Selim said: “There are a total of five people in the boat.”

Meanwhile, fear gripped the residents of ShapureeDwip in Teknaf as intermittent explosions were heard due to the clashes and firing between the Arakan Army and the armed forces in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

BGB and Coast Guard members are strictly patrolling the Naf River area to prevent any more infiltration from the other side of the border.

On Saturday, the sound of mortar shell explosions resulted in the trembling of houses on the Bangladesh side, inducing panic among the residents.

Locals gathered on the border road after hearing the sound of the explosion coming from the other side of the border.

Maulana Ashfak, khatib of DarushShari'ah Al-Islamiyah Boro Madrasa on the banks of the Naf River on the border, said: "I heard the sound of mortar shells on my way home after finishing Fajr prayer. The boys of the madrasa woke up from sleep around 3am on Friday with the sound of the heavy explosion.”

“We are living in fear. Because the madrasa building trembles with the sound of explosions,” he added.

UP member Abdus Salam said: “We can hear the sounds of heavy explosions from the other side of the Naf River since morning. The fishermen told us that war is happening in Myanmar in Maungdaw, Phadongcha, Norbonia, Nurullahpara and Hassuratas.”

Teknaf-2 BGB Commander Lt Col Mohiuddin Ahmed said: “I have received news of heavy firing inside Myanmar in the morning. However, we have increased patrolling along the border.”

ShapureeDwip jetty In-Charge Md Siddique said: “Gunshots are heard a little less than in the last two days. For the past two days, the border areas were shaking with the sound of mortar shells. I heard loud noises during duty and panicked. Sometimes it seems that bullets or mortar shells are landing here right now.

Meanwhile, the residents of Hoikung, Hnila and Saint Martin’s Island of Teknaf said that although they have heard heavy gunshots, they have not heard any sound of gunshots since Saturday morning.