Border shootout resulted from misunderstanding, says state minister for home

A ‘misunderstanding’ led to the exchange of fire between border patrols of Bangladesh and Myanmar near Cox’s Bazar, State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has said.

The incident on the Naf River at Teknaf Upazila early on Wednesday left a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) soldier with bullet wounds while Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP) abducted another BGB trooper.

“Myanmar’s BGP opened fire due to a misunderstanding between the two border patrols on the Naf River,” the minister told the media.

The injured BGB soldier ‘Biplob’ was taken to the Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital and later shifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Chittagong.

The abducted soldier, identified as Nayek ‘Razzak’, has been kept at a BGP camp near the Naf River in Myanmar.

“He will be brought back very soon through a flag meeting between the BGB and BGP,” said Kamal.

Injured BGB soldier ‘Biplob’ at the Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital

Replying to a query over what actually happened, he said that the two border forces patrol the river, which is shared by both Bangladesh and Myanmar.

‘The problem arose’ when the BGB trawler got stuck in a fishing net, according to Kamal.

But the Teknaf BGB chief has slightly different version, though he also alludes to a 'misunderstanding'.

Teknaf-based BGB 42 Battalion Commander Lt Col Abu Zar Al Zahid said the BGB patrol at the river’s Jamudira Point stopped a fishing trawler and conducted a search on the suspicion it was smuggling Yaba.

“A Myanmar border guard patrol on the river fired at the BGB, leading to an exchange of fire between them. The unwanted shooting broke out as the Myanmar border forces mistook them to be human-traffickers or smugglers,” he told bdnews24.com.