BDR, BSF trade shots on Sylhet border

Bangladesh Rifles and Border Security Force (BSF) of India again traded gunshots along the troubled Jaintapur border in Sylhet yesterday following a dispute over ownership of a swamp near the border.
The BSF men from the Muktapur and Hawaitila camps, located opposite to the Bangladesh's Jaintapur Border Out Post, started firing at 3:20pm and stopped at around 6:10pm, second-in-command of the 21 Battalion of BDR Maj Mamun told The Daily Star.
The firing started when about 300 Indian villagers left a swamp inside Bangladesh territory after failing to catch fish from there, the official added.
Panicked villagers at Kendri, Ghilatail and Bilaimara on Jaintapur border started leaving their homes to safer places, said Delwar Hossain, a trader in Jaintapur Bazar. Over 500 gunshots had so far been heard, he claimed.
The BDR officials, however, could not ascertain the figure.
Sources said the Indians had attempted to catch fish in the swamp several times, but failed due to the resistance of locals as well as the BDR during the last one month.