BGB trades gunfire with Myanmar’s border police

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) troopers have exchanged fires with their Myanmar counterparts at Bandarban's Naikhangchharhi.

No casualties were reported immediately, BGB’s Bandarban Sector Commander Col KM Saiful Islam said.

He said the gunfight started around 4pm on Friday and lasted for about 45 minutes.

BGB Director General Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed said the firing had stopped now.

Tension has been building along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border since Wednesday night when Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP) opened fire at BGB patrol teams at a Rohingya refugee camp near the border.

After the incident, a BGB trooper was reported missing. BGB officials said BGP had been silent about the matter. Later the issue was taken to the foreign ministry.

The ministry summoned Myanmar’s ambassador in Dhaka to protest, after which BGP said they had a dead body.

The BGB director general said BGP had not named the dead person. “We asked them to show us the body, because we have a man missing.”

The viewing was scheduled for 3:30pm Friday, but BGP began firing at that time and BGB fired back.