Ukhia-Teknaf residents in fear after loud shelling on border

Residents of Ukhia and Teknaf border areas in Cox's Bazar spent the night in fear after airstrikes and heavy shelling from Myanmar's Rakhine state. The sound of explosions one after another from Saturday night to dawn spread extreme anxiety across the border.

Confirming the matter on Sunday (December 28) morning, UP member of Ward No. 2 of Hoi Kyung Union Parishad, Sirajul Mustafa Lalu, said that a loud noise was heard from 12 midnight to 2 am. The loud noise shook the doors and windows of the houses along the border, which locals claim has not been heard in the recent past.

Sources said that these explosions took place as part of the ongoing clashes between the rebel organization Arakan Army and the junta forces in Myanmar's Rakhine state. The attack took place in the Bolibazar area, approximately 15 kilometers east-south of border pillar BRM-18 and about 13 kilometers inside the zero line.

The incident caused panic among the people of the border villages of Palangkhali and Rajapalong unions of Ukhia and Hoaikyong union of Teknaf. In this regard, Lieutenant Colonel Jasim Uddin, commander of the BGB Ukhia Battalion (64 BGB), said that the sound of the explosion came from inside Myanmar and no incident took place on Bangladeshi territory.