Joynal Abedin Khan :
Police in separate drives detained a youth from a house in Rajasthali upazila of Rangamati district, suspecting his link with Myanmar’s rebel group Arakan Army attack on Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
The detained person was identified as Aung Nu Young, 25.
Aung was picked up from a house owned by one Dr Ranaiju Rakhaine, “who is directly linked to the Arakan Army”, said Major Zahir Uddin Babar, BGB Commander of Bandarban Sector. At least 10 horses, three sets of the Arakan Army, two cameras, three laptops and some important documents, were seized from Aung, the BGB official said.
They suspect that the shooting was the result of the seizure of the horses, he said. Bangladesh and Myanmar also jointly conducting drive in the frontier areas between the two countries, said Mohsin Reza, Public Relation Officer of BGB.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said, “The combing operation would be conducted to contain Myanmar’s rebel group Arakan Liberation Party.
“We will uproot them (the separatists) from the area through combing operation so that they cannot repeat such a situation again.” The minister said this while speaking to the reporters during his visit in the hilly district of Bandarban on Thursday morning.
Top officials of armed forces, including the army, the police and the BGB carried out the raid in the presence of the minister, BGB director general and other officials.
“A team of Bangladesh Army, another from Bangladesh Air Force and separate teams of BGB and Police continued their operation in their presence,” the minister said.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) officials started a combing operation against a ‘separatist outfit’ of Myanmar on the Thanchi border area of Bandarban after the incident, the BGB DG Aziz Ahmed told the New Nation on Thursday.
The joint force brought the situation under control as the separatist group retreated, the DG said.
“We have sent adequate force and they will continue the operation to flush them out,” the BGB chief said.
“We have requested the Myanmar Army to seal the border on their side so that they [Myanmar Army] could take action against the separatists during the drive,” he said, adding the Myanmar counterpart assured them of all sorts of help.
On Wednesday, a BGB nayek Zakir Hossain sustained bullet injury as Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) opened firing at Barha Modak BGB camp in Remakri Union of Thanchi upazila.
The injured BGB man was sent to Combined Military Hospital in Chittagong for treatment.
ALP attacked the BGB camp to get back 13 horses in the afternoon of August 25.
