Bangladesh Army allegedly kills five indigenous protesters in CHT crackdown

Sanjoy kumar Barua

At least five indigenous villagers were killed and more than 40 others injured on Sunday after Bangladeshi soldiers opened fire on peaceful demonstrators in Guimara, Khagrachhari district, witnesses and community leaders said.

The protesters, mostly from the Marma community, had gathered to demand justice after a class-eight Marma girl was allegedly gang-raped by Muslim settlers on September 23.

Instead of apprehending the accused rapists, security forces allegedly unleashed lethal force on the crowd, while settlers carried out arson and looting in surrounding villages. Entire neighborhoods were left in ashes, with dozens of families displaced overnight.

“I grew up reading about the Logang massacre in the 1990s. Today, I have lived through the same horror with my own eyes,” said a Marma villager from Ramsu Bazar, his voice trembling. “Our homes are burning, our people are missing, and the Army is standing with the settlers, not protecting us.”

Local sources reported that 15 homes, nine rented houses, and at least 60 shops were torched in Ramsu Bazar.

Settlers looted seven shops, including the residence of a former district council chairman, before setting them on fire. At least 13 motorcycles were also burned.

“We saw familiar faces among the attackers,” another survivor said. “These were not strangers. They were our neighbors, our known settlers. It was all premeditated.”

Doctors at Khagrachhari Sadar Hospital confirmed receiving three dead bodies of Marma men aged 18 to 30, all with gunshot wounds. “Fifteen others have been admitted with bullet injuries, all from the Marma community,” said Dr. Ripple Bappi, a residential physician.

Witnesses said two more protesters died on the spot but their bodies were immediately removed by settlers. “We fear the number of dead is much higher. Many injured and killed may still be lying in paddy fields or hidden under the bridge,” said a Karbari (village chief) of the area.

At least five protesters remain missing, with families alleging that soldiers abducted them to nearby army camps. “We don’t know whether they are alive or dead,” a relative said.

The protest had drawn thousands of demonstrators demanding the arrest of the alleged rapists of the 14-year-old Marma girl. Instead, the community says, state forces treated the victims as adversaries.

“Instead of delivering justice, the Army has declared war on us,” said an elder from Dewan Para. “They fire on unarmed villagers and then allow settlers to burn our shops. This is not law enforcement, this is persecution.”

Community leaders compared the attack to previous state-sanctioned atrocities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), including the 1980s Longadu massacre and the 1992 Logang massacre.

“History is resurfacing,” said a teacher from Pathachara. “Decades after the peace accord, our people are still being driven out of their ancestral land.”

Villagers said many families fled into nearby forests as soldiers and settlers continued to occupy Ramsu Bazar and adjacent areas late into the night.

“We never imagined that in 2025 we would once again become homeless in our own land,” a woman from Bot Tola said. “Pray for us. Pray for the people of Prangna.”

When contacted , a local Army officer declined to comment the shooting or allegations of collaboration with settlers.

“We have nothing to say at this moment,” the officer said. “The situation is sensitive, and we are not authorized to speak.”

“Three bodies were brought to Khagrachhari Sadar Hospital for autopsy today evening, yet relatives were barred from seeing them, forcing families into a state of helpless despair over the fate of their loved ones,” said a hospital doctor, requesting anonymity.