Man dies during clash near Cox’s Bazar Air Force base

“Initially there was an argument, brickbats were thrown… then I think the Air Force opened fire,” a police official says

At least one person has been killed after a clash broke out near the Bangladesh Air Force base in Cox’s Bazar.

The incident occurred near the Samity Para area of the Cox’s Bazar Municipal Ward No. 1 near the base around noon on Monday, according to police and the local administration.

In a brief statement, the Inter Services Public Relations, or ISPR, said: “Some criminals from Samity Para, adjacent to the Cox’s Bazar Air Force base, launched an unprovoked attack on the Cox’s Bazar Air Force base. The Bangladesh Air Force is taking the necessary measures in this regard.”

Though the statement did not note any casualties, Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Salauddin confirmed that a person had been killed in the incident.

“One person has been killed in the incident and several others injured,” he said.

The deceased was identified as local trader Shihab Kabir Nahid, 30. His body is at the Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital morgue, according to Saiful Islam, the officer-in-charge of the hospital’s police outpost.

Shihab’s mother, retired Cox’s Bazar High School head teacher Amena Khatun, was seen in tears at the hospital.

“The Air Force shot my son in the head,” she said.

Ahsan Habib Polash, deputy inspector general of the Chattogram Range of the police, gave an account of the incident.

“Around 15,000-20,000 people live ‘outside the system’ in the Samity Para area,” he said. “The Air Force has a base next to it. When a lawyer named Jahidul Islam went to the area, the Air Force stopped him.”

“There were reports of a scuffle, but they were not confirmed. Something happened. At one point the residents of the Samity Para area became angry at the Air Force. At first there was an argument, brickbats were thrown… then I think the Air Force opened fire.”

A police official said, “A member of the public has been killed. We are currently trying to bring the situation under control.”