Four killed in armed clashes between UPDF, JSS in Khagrachhari

Police say the dead are from the UPDF’s military wing

At least four members of the United People's Democratic Front’s armed wing have reportedly been killed in a shootout with Chattogram’s Jana Samhati Samiti forces in remote Naraichhari of Khagrachhari’s Dighinala Upazila.

The gunfire exchange took place around 8:30pm Friday at Jora Sindhu Karbaripara of Naraichhari, said Dighinala Police Station chief Md Jakaria on Saturday.

"An armed group of 35 to 40 men under the command of JSS leader Joydev Chakma encountered the UPDF (Prasit Bikash Khisa faction) in the area. Intense gunfire followed between the two sides," he said.

Preliminary reports suggest that four members of the UPDF’s military wing People's Liberation Army were killed in the skirmish. Police have yet to confirm their identities.

"The situation at the site is now under control," added Officer Jakaria.

However, UPDF district organiser Angya Marma has denied the incident outright.

“No such incident has taken place,” he claimed when contacted.

Both JSS and UPDF factions have long been at loggerheads over territorial and political control in the Chattogram Hill Tracts, often resulting in violent confrontations.