Christians in Bangladesh’s restive Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region say an uptick in violence and deaths has triggered fear in the community.
In the latest violence, a group of Bengali Muslim settlers burned down 40 houses belonging to ethnic Chakma people in Mahalchhari sub-district of Khagrachhari district on July 5. At least five people were injured, locals said.
The attackers allegedly looted the houses before setting them on fire. Church sources confirmed no Christians were among the victims of the attack.
Mohmmad Ashrafuzzaman, officer-in-charge of Mahalchhari police station said that no case has been filed over the arson attack, but law enforcers have been deployed in the area to avert further violence.
“Police and soldiers have stepped up patrols in the area to prevent any deterioration in law and order. Senior security officials have visited the area,” Ashrafuzzaman told.
“There was a clash between two groups. The accusation of looting is totally baseless. We are keen to maintain a friendship with all” Local media, quoting eyewitnesses, have reported that a group of about 120 to 150 Muslims led by local community leader Mohammad Aziz, vandalized and set fire to the houses in the Joysen para (village) area of Mahalchhari.
Aziz denied the allegations.
“The allegation that we attacked them is not true. There was a clash between two groups. The accusation of looting is totally baseless. We are keen to maintain a friendship with all,” Aziz told.
He also dismissed any communal motive behind the clash, adding that it was sparked after tribal people stopped Bengali people from growing crops in local plots.
Earlier, on June 21, an armed insurgent group, the Kuki-Chin National Front, shot dead three ethnic Tripura people and hacked another including one Christian in the Bilachhari area of Rangamati district.
Rights groups say at least 22 members of ethnic minority groups have been killed in violence in the last year and a series of arson attacks targeted tribal houses. While the rise in violence is mostly blamed on a turf war between armed insurgent groups, arson attacks have occurred due to clashes between Muslims and tribals.
“We are the locals, but today we do not have any security, neither at home nor outside. Often, we do not know who is killing whom, when and why”
Makhonlal Tripura, 29, a Tripura Catholic from neighboring Bandarban district, said Christians are living in fear over a surge in violence in the region.
“We are the locals, but today we do not have any security, neither at home nor outside. Often, we do not know who is killing whom, when and why. The CHT has become a turbulent place,” Tripura, a father of two, told.