A massive reported gunfight between the Bangladesh Army and the United Peoples Democratic Front, a political party of national minorities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, occurred at Baghaichhari upazila early Tuesday.
The gunfight took place during a drive by the army reportedly in a UPDF hideout at Narendra Karbari Tripura Para in which the army recovered arms from the spot, according to an Inter Services Public Relation Directorate press release issued on the day.
The UPDF in a counter statement refuted the ISPR鈥檚 claim.聽
The ISPR directorate said that the army鈥檚 Baghaihat zone conducted a drive on intelligence at about 3:30am on Tuesday.
When the armed group sensed the army鈥檚 presence, they attempted to flee by opening fire, triggering a massive exchange of gunfire, the ISPR release added.
In a raid following the gunfight, the release added that the army recovered arms, including one sub-machine gun, three locally made guns, one LG, one sub-machine gun magazine, seven rounds, 25 types of looted SMG blank magazine, two cartridges, and also four walkie-talkies, two cameras, one spy camera sun glass, one spy camera device charger and three pen drives.
The UPDF in a press release later in the afternoon claimed that it was a staged drama of arms recovery by the Bangladesh Army, saying that the ISPR statement of exchange of gunfire and arms recovery was 鈥榝ake鈥�.
In the statement, UPDF spokesperson Ongyo Marma said, 鈥楴o gunfight and arms recovery took place between Bangladesh Army and UPDF.鈥�
It claimed that the gunfight was 鈥榝aked鈥� as part of 鈥榓 conspiracy against the UPDF鈥�.
In another press release, the UPDF-backed student organisation Pahari Chhatra Parishad, women body Hill Women鈥檚 Federation and youth organisation Ganatantrik Juba Forum said that they held a protest procession at Sajek in the afternoon protesting at what they claimed as 鈥榝ake arms recovery and gunfight鈥�.
