Woman with gunshot wound among 5 Rohingya seeking refuge from Myanmar amid conflict

BGB members are trying to send them back without allowing them to come ashore

A small boat carrying five Rohingya people, including a woman with gunshot wound from Myanmar's Rakhine, has docked at Teknaf border in Cox’s Bazar amid clashes between insurgent group the Arakan Army and security forces.

Border Guard Bangladesh personnel have surrounded the boat.

The boat crossed the Naf River at 5pm on Saturday and arrived at Shah Pori's Island jetty, said Abdus Salam, a member of the local union council.

The woman is identified as Safura Khatun, the wife of Hafez Ahmad Ullah from the Nalbanya area of Myanmar.

Hafez's elder sister Ramzan Begum, who resides in the Jadimora Shalbagan Rohingya refugee camp in Teknaf, said Safura was shot in Myanmar on Friday morning.

Even though the family contacted the other members in Bangladesh by phone and brought them to Teknaf for medical help, the BGB was not letting them come ashore.

Rubel, a local man who gave a single name, said he was fishing near the jetty when the boat arrived. “I heard the boat was carrying a Rohingya woman with bullet injury. Then the BGB came and surrounded the boat."

Md Salim, a street food vendor at the jetty, also confirmed the arrival of the boat.

The BGB did not formally confirm the development, but an official requesting anonymity said the injured woman had been given saline.

He said BGB members were trying to send them back without allowing them to come ashore.

Local residents said that after the incident, both intelligence agents and media workers were heading to the island jetty after the incident, but the BGB did not allow them to go there.

EXPLOSIONS HEARD ACROSS NAF RIVER

After 8am on Saturday, the Teknaf border areas were rocked by deafening sounds of continuous shelling from across the Naf River for two hours.

A local resident described hearing sporadic gunfire throughout the night and the island was jolted by the sounds of two loud explosions around 1pm.

Before that, no explosions were reported from 7pm on Friday until 8am on Saturday.

Residents of Shah Pori’s Island said they heard explosions inside Myanmar, on the island's east side.

Nobi Hussain, a resident of Jaliapara in the island, shared that the Myanmar border was quiet on Friday night. But on Saturday morning, a loud noise shook the ground, frightening the residents.

Lieutenant Colonel Mohiuddin Ahmed, leading the Teknaf 2 Battalion of the BGB, reported: "Sudden loud noises and gunfire have been detected across the border. BGB personnel are on high alert, and patrols have been intensified in the border areas. Speedboat patrols are being conducted round-the-clock to prevent any unauthorised entry."

Adnan Chowdhury, the Upazila executive officer or UNO, said the BGB and the Coast Guard have strengthened patrols along the Myanmar border.

Residents have been advised to remain vigilant amid the escalating conflict in Rakhine state.