On Monday, at a flag meeting with Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), India’s Border Security Force (BSF) apologized about the shooting of at least 15 Bangladeshi civilians at the Jaintapur border in Sylhet on Sunday.
On Sunday, Indian and Bangladeshi border guards have exchanged gunfire and injured at least 15 Bangladeshi villagers. Bangladesh officials say the fighting broke out when local Indian tribal people entered Bangladeshi territory to fish. Bangladeshi villagers tried to stop the group, and Bangladeshi officials say Indian border security forces then started shooting. Officials said the skirmish occurred Sunday along Bangladesh's northeastern Jaintapur frontier.
Soldiers from the two countries often exchange gunfire along the shared 4,000 kilometer-long border. The latest clash occurred three days after commanders of the two border forces held talks in New Delhi on how to prevent such shootings. India is concerned that militant groups operating near its border with Bangladesh cross the border to escape capture.
India’s Border Security Force assured Bangladesh that they would exercise restraint to make sure that no more innocent lives are lost at the shared borders.
Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, VOA correspondent in Dhaka, has more on this.