Fighting in Myanmar: Teknaf rocked by sounds of explosions

Following a period of relative calm, sounds of mortar shell explosions in Myanmar's Rakhine state disrupted the peace in Teknaf again on Sunday night.

Locals reported hearing sounds of at least 20 explosions echoing across the Rakhine state, adjacent to the Bangladesh border, which continued for around half an hour until 10:00pm.

Rafiqul Islam, member of Ward-3 in Whykong union of Teknaf, recounted hearing explosion sounds originating from across the border on Sunday night.

"Maungdaw and Nakpura areas in Rakhine lie directly opposite to our area, and the sounds appeared to originate from there," he said.

Rashed Mohammad Ali, chairman of Whykong Union Parishad, expressed concern over the recurring explosions, attributing them to ongoing clashes between Myanmar junta troops and the rebel Arakan Army.

The frequent explosions have instilled fear among people, which is why they refrain from going to their fields or fish enclosures to work, he said. 

The conflict escalated in early February when Myanmar government forces clashed with the Arakan Army at the Tumbru border in Ghumdhum union under Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban.

Subsequently, a significant number of Myanmar government troops, predominantly comprising Myanmar's Border Guard Police, sought asylum in Bangladesh in successive waves before being repatriated on February 15.

With the conflict spreading from the Naikhongchhari to the Teknaf border, where many Rohingya populations live in villages bordering Rakhine State, the situation remains risky.

The ongoing clashes between the Myanmar government and Arakan Army along the Bangladesh border areas have caused tragic incidents on this side of the border as well.

A Bangladeshi woman and a Rohingya man were killed and a child was injured as a mortar shell from across the border in Myanmar exploded in Ghumdhum union of Bandarban's Naikhongchhari on February 5.