A Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) soldier has lost both his legs in a landmine explosion near the Myanmar border in the Naikhongchhari area of Bandarban.
According to officers and local administrators, the borders are heavily mined by Myanmar as part of its long-running battles with ethnic armed groups, which have frequently resulted in casualties among Bangladeshis.
The latest incident occurred around 12:30pm on Sunday near Border Pillar 41, when the mine exploded as the BGB personnel were on patrol, said Lieutenant Colonel Khairul Alam, director of the 34 BGB Battalion.
The injured, Akhtar Hossain, is a naik assigned to the 34 BGB Battalion’s Rezu Amtali Border Outpost. The explosion severed his right ankle and caused severe injuries to his left leg.
Khairul Alam said Akhtar Hossain was rescued and immediately transferred to Ramu Military Hospital, where he is currently undergoing treatment.
According to BGB, the blast occurred within Bangladesh’s territory near the proposed temporary outpost at Rezu Amtali Border Outpost, while Akhtar Hossain was on patrol near Border Pillar 41 in Tumbru, sources in Cox’s Bazar told TIMES.
Naikhongchhari Upazila Executive Officer Muhammad Mazharul Islam Chowdhury said, “I have been informed that a BGB member was injured in a landmine explosion near the Peyarabunia border in Naikhongchhari. I have not yet received full details.”
The borders in the rugged hills and dense forests of Bandarban, especially in the no-man’s land of Naikhongchhari, are heavily mined by Myanmar, leading to frequent mine explosions that have caused injuries, mostly among Bangladeshi nationals in recent times.
According to Border Guard Bangladesh records and local tallies, at least 16 villagers in Bangladesh’s Bandarban district have been maimed by landmines in the past three years. Ten of these casualties occurred in the first eight months of this year alone, a surge that security officials describe as alarming.
Officers and local administrators say the devices are laid by Myanmar’s military and allied militias, who have used mines for years in their battles with ethnic armed groups. Myanmar’s military has long denied laying mines indiscriminately, but international watchdogs have accused the country for years of sowing fields and riverbanks with explosives.
The Landmine Monitor’s 2024 report concluded that Myanmar has continued to deploy antipersonnel mines despite publicly endorsing annual United Nations resolutions in support of a global ban. The report also noted a sharp spike in the use of mines in 2023 and 2024.
