A member of the Bangladesh Army was shot and injured during a gunfight between joint forces and a gang of human traffickers in the hilly area of Teknaf upazila in Cox’s Bazar on Thursday.
Law enforcement officers arrested three members of the human trafficking ring, recovered arms, and rescued 57 hostages who were being held in the hills.
The incident took place at around 5:30pm near H Block of Leda Nuralipara Rohingya refugee camp in Hnila Union under Teknaf upazila.
A special joint operation was conducted by the Bangladesh Army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and Police to rescue individuals detained for human trafficking.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), criminals opened fire on security personnel during the drive, prompting joint forces to retaliate.
An army member sustained bullet injuries during the gunfight and was rescued and rushed to Ramu Cantonment Military Hospital for treatment. The identity of the injured army member was not immediately known.
Md Kawsar Sikder, additional deputy inspector general and commanding officer of 16 Armed Police Battalion (APBN), confirmed the incident at around 9:30 pm on Thursday.
He said district police and joint forces conducted the drive in the Leda Nuralipara hills, during which an army member was injured in a gunfight with criminals, leading to the arrest of several suspects, recovery of arms, and rescue of trafficking victims.
SM Anik Chowdhury, Teknaf upazila nirbahi officer (UNO), said a gunfight occurred in the Leda hilly area, leaving a Bangladesh Army member shot, who was promptly moved to Ramu Cantonment Military Hospital.
Local sources said hill criminals had detained over 200 people in various hilly areas of Teknaf for a long time to traffic them illegally to Malaysia. Firing triggered widespread panic across adjacent areas when security forces began the rescue drive.
Nasima Akter, a local resident, said a gang of robbers fired at law enforcement members in the afternoon, adding that over 100 people detained in the hills for trafficking to Malaysia were rescued during the operation.
The identities of the three arrested traffickers and specific details of the recovered arms could not be immediately ascertained.
Detailed information regarding the identities of the 57 rescued victims and the specific locations from which they were recovered were also not immediately available.
