Army personnel killed, 2 injured in KNA firing in Bandarban

Staff Reporter :
An army member was killed and two others were injured after armed members of Kuki-Chin National Army (KNA) opened fire on the army patrols in Bandarban on Sunday.
 The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) informed this in a press release on Monday (March 13).
The victim has been identified as Nazim Uddin, a master warrant officer of Bangladesh Army. Two others injured are being treated at a hospital.
On Sunday (March 12) at approximately 1:00 pm, the armed terrorist group of KNA attacked him and he died on the spot after being shot.
Besides, two injured army personnel are currently undergoing treatment in the hospital.
According to ISPR, under the supervision of the Bangladesh Army, the army members were engaged in the security of the team that went to provide free health care to mothers and children in remote hilly areas on the occasion of National Children’s Day and Great Independence Day.
KNA terrorists opened fire on them. KNA, a separatist armed terrorist group, had previously provided arms training to militant groups like Jamaatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya in Bandarban’s hilly areas.
It is mentionable that Thanchi Road in Bandarban is being operated under the supervision of the army for the development of the backward communities in the hilly areas. To counter the development activities of the government, the KNA terrorist group first demanded ransom from the civilian contractors, suppliers and laborers involved in the road construction activities, and later threatened to stop the work.
But as the work was going on under the supervision of the army, the KNA terrorist group kidnapped 12 workers on March 11. One of them was shot dead and four workers are still being held hostage by the KNA. The remaining seven laborers were released for ransom but were threatened not to work on the army’s road construction project. Based on this issue, KNA opened fire on army patrols on Sunday.
It is to be noted that on February 8, KNA issued a notice threatening the Transport Owners Association to stop the movement of vehicles in three Upazilas of Bandarban. Later, the district administration issued an indefinite travel ban in that area till Sunday to avoid any kind of unexpected incident.