UPDF leader killed with three others in Khagrachhari

An unidentified group pf people shot and killed a leader of the Prosit Khisha faction of the United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) as well as three others allied with the group in Khagrachhari on Monday night.

Logang Union Council Chairman Joy Kumar Chakma confirmed three others were also abducted in the night raid carried out by at least 25 armed miscreants, sparking tensions and fears in the area. Days of protest movements have been called in response to the attack.

In a statement, the UPDF-Prosit Khisha faction blamed rival group UPDF-Gonotantrik for the killings and abductions. UPDF-Gonotantrik denied any involvement.

Sunil Chakma, president of the Panchhari upazila unit of Pahari Chhatra Parishad, claimed UPDF-Prosit group had expelled many of its members on corruption and sexual scandal allegations who later formed a separate UPDF-Gonotantrik faction in 2017.

These "former rogue members" carried out the Monday night attack, Sunil claimed. Until the group's 2017 breakup, the Prosit faction was the only group going under the name UPDF and is still the dominant faction in the hill tracts. However, it continues to face armed challenges posed by its rival faction.

The UPDF-Profit Khisha faction and its like-minded groups Gonotantrik Jubo Forum and Pahari Chhatra Parishad were expected to take part in a youth rally on Tuesday and key leaders met at a local's house Monday to discuss necessary preparations, before eventually coming under attack.

The deceased indigenous leaders are: UPDF-Prosit faction's organiser Rohin Bikash Tripura, 49, Pahari Chhatra Parishad's Central Unit Vice-Preisent Sunit Tripura, 28, Gonotantrik Jubo Forum's Organisational Secretary Bipul Chakma, 32, and the same organisation's Khagrachhari district Vice-President Liton Chakma, 29.

The UPDF-Prosit faction has called a three-day protest rally from Wednesday, demonstrations on Sunday and district-wide blockade on Monday. The group has also announced a boycott of business activities at the Panchhari upazila bazar for a month from Friday.

UPDF-Gonotantrik President Shamal Kanti Chakma said other armed groups in Khagrachhari could be behind the killings and abductions, while denying the faction's complicity.

Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal General Secretary President Bazlur Rashid Firoz condemned the latest violence in Khagrachhari, blaming the army and other vested parties for working behind-the-scenes to fuel tensions in the hill tracts. Peace is still a distant scene in the hill tract region although 25 years have passed since the signing of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord. Most of the basic elements of the accord are yet to be implemented, while an undeclared army rule continues in the region, he alleged.