Army, BGB launch jt operation in Thanchi after firing by Arakan Army

Bangladesh Army and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel have launched a joint operation along the border with Myanmar in Bandarban’s Thanchi Upazila after a gunbattle between Myanmar’s separatists and the BGB on Wednesday. Two teams of the army and another of the BGB were flown in to Bara Modak area after the incident in the morning. An F-7 plane of Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) joined the operation later. A BGB media statement said the members of a separatist outfit of Myanmar – Arakan Army – moved back after the joint raid in the afternoon. “The separatist group left the area after the operation. The BGB squad, which came under the attack, returned to the camp safely when the Myanmarese rebels retreated in the afternoon,” it said. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the joint operation would continue to neutralise the separatist 'Arakan Army'. He is scheduled to visit Bandarban on Thursday. BGB Nayek Md Zakir, who received bullet injuries in his hand in the firing, was airlifted to Combined Military Hospital in Chittagong by a helicopter, BGB Director General Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed said. The BGB has asked the Myanmar army and border force to seal their border. The Bangladesh side of the border has also been cordoned off. "The situation in the area is normal now. The combing operation to capture the separatists is on. Myanmar authorities are also firm on the issue," Gen Ahmed said, according to bdnews24.com.
- biplab