Bangladeshi among Rohingya refugees killed by landmines at Bandarban border

At least one Bangladeshi and four Rohingyas were killed, as well as 12 injured, within a week at the Naikhyangchhari border in Bandarban due to exploding landmines. In the latest incident, 45-year-old Bangladeshi Hakim Ullah, son of Badiur Rahman from Naikhyangchhari Sadar upazila, died on Tuesday after a landmine went off. The other deceased, all Rohingyas, are Kaisar, 10, Gul Seher, 60, Syed Ahmad, 55, Moqtar Ahmed, 45. Gul Seher was the first to die on September 6. Meanwhile, the injured Bangladeshis and Rohingyas are being treated at different hospitals in Cox's Bazar and Chittagong, said sources in Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the local administration. Since tensions once again flared in the Rakhine state at the end of August, at least 100,000 Rohingyas fleeing their homes in Myanmar's have taken shelter in the no man's land at seven points along Bangladesh's border with Myanmar in Bandarban. The entry of Rohingyas through barbed-wire border fences dropped significantly following reports that people were being killed and injured in landmine blasts, sources said, adding that the refugees are now hiding in the forests on the border instead. Landmines have been planted allegedly by the Myanmar military on the zero points at Tombru, Baishfarhi, Ashartali, Chakdhala, Shapmarajhiri and Lemuchhari along the Naikhyangchhari border to stop the Rohingya from returning to the Rakhine state from Bangladeshi territory. When contacted, BGB 31 Battalion Commander Lt Col Anwarul Azim said he had been informed of the deaths and injuries. The landmines had been planted on the no man's land in breach of international law, he said. Sources said the repeated casualties caused by landmine explosions were spreading panic among both Rohingyas and locals.