Around 3,000 tourists stranded in Sajek Valley were evacuated to Khagrachari on Thursday after an exchange of gunfire between the army and an alleged armed group amid an indefinite road blockade.
The gunfire erupted near Ujo Bazar on the road to Sajek around 11:30am, as security forces attempted to clear the road and escort tourists past the blockade. Several tourists were injured when protesters threw stones at them, police said.
The Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) said members of the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) opened fire on law enforcement personnel and tourists, prompting the army to return fire to protect the visitors.
The UPDF rejected the allegation, describing reports of a gunfight as false and claiming that security forces had fired unilaterally to undermine the peaceful blockade.
The situation returned to normal about an hour after the exchange of gunfire, and the army and police continued escorting tourists towards Khagrachari.
Sajek Police Station Officer-In-Charge Tofazzal Hossain said protesters had stopped a convoy of tourist vehicles at Ujo Bazar in the morning. When law enforcement personnel tried to bring the situation under control, protesters threw stones, injuring several tourists.
The security forces later cleared the road and escorted the visitors past the blockade, he said.
According to an ISPR statement, armed UPDF members fired around 30 to 40 rounds at law enforcement personnel and tourists at about 11am. An army patrol returned fire in self-defence and to ensure the tourists’ safety, after which the armed men fled.
The UPDF’s spokesperson, Angya Marma, alleged that security personnel had fired in different directions without provocation to discredit the road blockade organised by residents of Sajek.
The blockade was called by the Sajek Public Rights Protection Committee and the Sajek Karbari Association, which are demanding, among other things, the removal of armed members of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti, led by Santu Larma, from Sajek Valley in Baghaihat upazila.
The two organisations announced the indefinite blockade of the Sajek tourist road on Wednesday afternoon and urged visitors to leave the area.
The district administration subsequently announced the temporary closure of Sajek Valley as a tourist destination, citing concerns over tourists’ safety. Visitors were instructed to leave the area by 4pm on Thursday.
From 6am on Thursday, protesters blocked the road at several points, placing tree trunks across it. The army and police then began escorting stranded tourists towards Khagrachari.
Heping Tripura, a line manager at Sajek tourist centre, said more than 450 vehicles carrying tourists had left Sajek around 8:30am. When the convoy reached Ujo Bazar, about 25km from the valley, protesters stopped the vehicles, leaving around 2,250 tourists stranded.
Sajek Public Rights Protection Committee president Babudhan Chakma said the blockade was peaceful but no vehicles, including those carrying tourists, would be allowed to pass.
“We are holding a peaceful blockade. No vehicles, including tourist vehicles, will be allowed to move. We are occupying the road and have no intention of letting the tourist vehicles through,” he said.
