DHAKA: Bangladesh summoned the ambassador of Myanmar after civil war gun battles in the neighbouring country spilled over the border, wounding a Bangladeshi girl.
Heavy fighting in Myanmarâs Rakhine state this month has involved junta soldiers, Arakan Army fighters and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) militia guerrillas. Authorities said around a dozen villages in Bangladeshâs Coxâs Bazar district have been affected by the violence.
Twelve-year-old Huzaifa Afnan was struck by a bullet, while a Bangladeshi fisherman had his leg ripped off after stepping on a landmine near the frontier.
âBangladesh reminded that the unprovoked firing towards Bangladesh is a blatant violation of international law and a hindrance to good neighbourly relations,â a foreign ministry press statement said.
Myanmarâs ambassador to Bangladesh, U Kyaw Soe Moe, was summoned to the foreign ministry on Tuesday, where he expressed sincere sympathy to the injured victims and their families.
âMy daughter was supposed to go to school, but she is on a ventilator,â Afnanâs father Jasim Uddin said. âMy heart is bleeding for my baby girl.â More than a million Rohingya have fled their homes in Myanmar, many after a 2017 military crackdown, and now eke out a living in sprawling refugee camps just across the border in Bangladesh.
ARSA, a Rohingya armed group formed to defend the persecuted Muslim minority, has been fighting the Myanmar military, as well as rival Arakan Army guerrillas.
On Monday, Bangladeshi border forces detained 53 ARSA fighters who had crossed the frontier.
