All eight people killed in Bandarban shootout were from Bawm ethnic group

The bodies have been handed over to the Bawm Social Council or families following legal procedures

The eight people killed in an alleged shootout between tribal groups in Bandarban's Rowangchhari Upazila on Thursday night were all members of the Bawm ethnic minority.

An official from the Bandarban Bawm Social Council, who chose to remain anonymous, told bdnews24.com that the bodies of the eight people were handed to the council or families following legal procedures on Saturday.

Some of the bodies had started to decompose and emit an unpleasant odour due to the heat.

Out of the eight people who were killed, six were from Ward No. 4 of Paindu Union in Ruma Upazila. They are Sangkhum Bawm, 45, Lal Thajar Bawm, 27, Bhanlal Duh Bawm, 35, Sun Thir Thang Bawm, 22, Boirem Bawm, 17, and Lallian Ngak Bawm, 44.

Lal worked as an office assistant at the Zurvarawng Para Government Primary School, as per his relatives who visited the hospital.

The other two victims were Jehim Bawm and Bamram Bawm. They were from Paikhyong Para and Ronin Para in Rowangchhari, respectively.

The Bawm Social Council said their bodies would be buried following religious customs in their communities.

No case has been filed over the incident, said Abdul Mannan, chief of Rowangchhari Police Station.

A temporary police booth has been set up near Rowangchhari Government High School to provide safety measures for those seeking shelter there.

More than 250 people from 80 families in Khamtang Para near Ruma-Rowangchhari road left their homes in the dark on Thursday night. They took shelter in a nearby forest and church, where they spent the night, according to the village head.

Police went to Khamtang Para after receiving information from local representatives and recovered eight bodies with gunshot wounds. The bodies were then taken to Bandarban Sadar Hospital for autopsy.

The organisations seeking control of the hilly areas deny wrongdoing, blaming each other for deadly gunfights.

Police said some of those killed had camouflage uniforms like the armed forces.

No one revealed the names of the sides involved in the latest incident.

However, ‘Va Te Kuki’, a Facebook page purportedly run by the Kuki-Chin National Front, identified seven dead as its members on Friday.

Photos of six individuals, four of whom had their national ID cards displayed, were shared in a later post. All of them are members of the Bawm community.

It alleged a reformist group backed by the government killed the KNF members, pointing the finger at the United People’s Democratic Front (Ganatantrik), a breakaway faction of UPDF.

bdnews24.com could not independently verify the claims.

Police said they were unaware of the Facebook page.

Uba Mong Marma, general secretary of the Bandarban unit of UPDF (Ganatantrik), refuted the allegations raised by the Bawm Party.

“Our group is not an armed outfit. We believe in pushing for our demands systematically and democratically,” he maintained.

Khorshed Alam Chowdhury, chief executive of Rowangchhari Upazila administration, said on Friday night that around 50 people arrived at Rowangchhari Government Primary School in the morning. As the day progressed, the number increased to 185 people.

He said he heard about 64 hill people, including men, women, and children, had taken shelter at the Bawm Community Centre in Ramu Upazila.

The members of the Khyang ethnic group who came to Rowangchhari were given food and blankets under the supervision of the army and the Upazila administration.

As many as 75 people from 22 families who left Khamtang Para after the shooting incident took shelter at the Bawm Community Centre, according to Sun Bawm, the senior vice-president of the Bawm Social Welfare Association.

Uhla Mong Marma, chairman of the local Paindu union council, said his Union Parishad sent 200 kg of rice and other food items on Saturday morning to aid the people taking shelter at Bawm Community Centre in Ruma.

The police patrol team is in regular contact with those feeling anxious and fearful, said Tariqul Islam, the district's superintendent of police.

He added that security measures have been strengthened and intelligence surveillance intensified.