Bangladesh’s interior minister announced on Monday that arms imported from “outside the country” are exacerbating violence in a southeastern border area with India, resulting in three fatalities.
Violence erupted in the Chittagong Hill Tracts on Sunday when security forces halted protesters who were outraged over the alleged recent rape of a woman, leading to three deaths.
The military attributed the violence to rebels, while protesters accused the troops of shooting.
Bangladesh has faced political instability since student-led demonstrations forced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to seek refuge in India last year, straining the relationship between Dhaka and New Delhi.
Interior Minister Jahangir Alam Chowdhury claimed that “arms are coming from outside the country,” arming “miscreants firing from the hilltops,” though he provided no further specifics.
This region has consistently been a hotspot for conflict between Indigenous groups and Bengali-speaking populations, with frequent clashes over land and resources.
Protesters expressed their anger over the alleged gang rape of an Indigenous woman on September 23.
“We have been demonstrating peacefully, limiting ourselves to rallies and roadblocks,” a student protester informed AFP, describing the rally on Sunday in Khagrachari district.
“The military fired shots, killing at least three of us and injuring dozens,” they added, requesting anonymity due to fear of retaliation.
However, the military denied any responsibility.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s communication wing, accused the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF), a dissident rebel group, of inciting the violence and firing numerous shots.
Rebels waged a decades-long insurgency for a tribal homeland before a 1997 peace agreement, but the UPDF rejected the accord and continues to demand autonomy and a full military withdrawal.
The renewed unrest presents a challenge for interim leader Muhammad Yunus, tasked with leading the country of 170 million to elections in February — the first since a mass uprising ousted the government in 2024.
