Bangladesh forces rescue Rohingya refugees in clash with suspected traffickers

Bangladesh security forces rescued at least 57 people, including Rohingya refugees, during a gun battle with suspected human traffickers near the Myanmar border. (Photo/Reuters)

Bangladesh security forces rescued at least 57 people, including Rohingya refugees, during a gun battle with suspected human traffickers near the Myanmar border, the military said on Friday.

One soldier was killed in the clash on Thursday night, the military's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

ISPR said that security forces launched an operation in the hills of Rongikhali in Teknaf, close to the border with Myanmar, after receiving a tip-off that an armed gang of 15 to 16 suspected traffickers had abducted around 120 Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshis.

"During the exchange of fire, an army soldier, Md Titash Sheikh, was shot. The bullet struck his left shoulder. He was bleeding profusely," the statement said.

Sheikh, 27, later died of his injuries.

Bangladesh hosts more than 1.2 million Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled a brutal military crackdown in neighbouring Myanmar in 2017.

Many live in sprawling camps around Cox's Bazar, near the border, where trafficking gangs prey on refugees seeking work or passage abroad.

The 2017 Myanmar crackdown, which saw Rohingya villages burned and civilians killed, is the subject of a genocide case at the UN's top court in The Hague.

The court will deliver its ruling on November 19.

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Source: TRT