Intense clashes near Laldiya border with Myanmar, bullet hits Teknaf Land Port

The Arakan Army is fighting over control of the Laldiya Char area with the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation, local representatives say

Intense clashes have broken out over control of Laldiya Char in Myanmar, across the Naf River from Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf. Bullets from the fighting have struck the Teknaf Land Port and houses near the border, leading to panic among locals.

Laldiya, located on the eastern side of the Myanmar border on the Naf River, is quite close to the Jaliardia area of Teknaf. Sounds of gunfire could be heard from the area around noon on Wednesday and continued regularly as of 3pm.

Local representatives say that the Arakan Army armed force is attempting to wrest control of the char from the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation, a Rohingya criminal group.

The two sides had clashed on Sept 11. Another round of fighting began on Wednesday.

Syed Mohammad Anowar Hossain, manager of land port operation organisation United Land Port Limited Teknaf, said:

“I heard the sound of gunfire as I was at the office in the afternoon. At one point, a bullet struck the office window and broke it.”

Another bullet struck the glass on a freight truck at the land port, he said.

“There were sounds of gunfire last Wednesday and Thursday too. Everyone is worried. Port operations have come to a halt.”

Mohammad Ali, a Hnila Union council member, said that the port area and the Damdamia have been quaking since Wednesday afternoon amid the sound of gunfire. The home of Ayub Mia in Damdamia has been hit by a bullet during the fighting.

“A window was broken, as was a wardrobe inside the house, when bullets struck. Several bullets struck the port.”

Nojir Ahmed, Ward No. 9 union council member from Teknaf Sadar, said that the RSO had been occupying the Laldiya area for a long time. The Arakan Army then gave them a deadline to leave the area, but the RSO refused to cede control. Now they were facing an attack by the Arakan Army.

There have been reports of casualties in the intense fighting, he said.

Several bullets hit the Teknaf Land Port during fighting between two Myanmar insurgent groups around noon on Wednesday, says Md Adnan Chowdhury, the Upazila executive officer for Teknaf.

The bullets struck doors and windows at the land port, but no one had been hurt there, he said.

Locals say that the Border Guard Bangladesh and Coast Guard have been informed of the incidents.

Several calls were made to Lt Col Md Mohiuddin Ahmed, captain of the BGB’s Teknaf-2 Battalion, for comment, but he did not pick up the phone.