Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Bangladesh Coast Guard have been on high alert since Saturday night as the sounds of gunfire and mortar shells from Myanmar have rattled the areas near the Teknaf Border.
Locals along the border said they are living in fear, and in response to the incidents, both BGB and Coast Guard have increased their patrols along the Hnila and Whykong unions and Shapuree Dwip areas.
“The sound of heavy mortar shelling was heard intermittently throughout the night from my house. I woke up several times,” said Md Iliyas, a resident of Hnila union.
Mohammad Alam, a UP member of ward no 8 of Whykong union parishad in Teknaf, said: "The sound of firing was heard from the Myanmar border. People are being asked to remain vigilant.”
Meanwhile, Myanmar nationals are still trying to enter Bangladesh, and so far about 400 of them have been sent back by law enforcement agencies.
Lieutenant Tahsin Rahman, the media officer of Coast Guard Chittagong East Zone, said: “We have strengthened patrolling along the Naf River due to the possibility of intrusion from the other side. No one is allowed to enter (Bangladesh) again.”
Meanwhile, on Saturday, heavy shelling was reported from Myanmar across the Naf River at the Teknaf border in Cox's Bazar, with black smoke enveloping the area.
The terrifying sound of mortar shells has been heard from Myanmar since morning, causing fear among the approximately 10,000 people living near the border.
