Bangladesh: 2 killed as fighting continues at Myanmar border

According to the police, mortar rounds launched from Myanmar during fighting there landed in a village across the border on February 5, killing at least two persons in Bangladesh.

Since November 2023, when rebel forces from the Arakan Army broke a ceasefire that had mainly held since a coup in 2021, there have been numerous skirmishes in parts of Myanmar near the 270 km border with Bangladesh.

Hosne Ara, a 48-year-old Bangladeshi woman, and an unidentified ethnic Rohingya man were killed, according to the police.

Aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said its medics in Cox’s Bazar had on Feb 4 received 17 patients “following fighting at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border”.

“All the patients had gunshot wounds. Two were in life-threatening condition, and five were seriously injured,” MSF said in a statement.

Important trade hubs on the Chinese border were taken over by an alliance comprising rebels from ethnic minorities and AA insurgents, who together launched an offensive in northern Myanmar in October.

The alliance declared in January that hostilities would end in certain areas, including those close to the border between India and Bangladesh, although this truce was negotiated by China.

(With agency inputs)