Myanmar shelling: Schools at Tumbru border closed amid fear

Primary schools along the Tumbru border of Ghumdhum union in Bandarban have been declared closed as fear grips the area due to ongoing clashes between the Myanmar security force and the Arakan Army.

Locals and guards at the primary schools in Tumbru valley claimed the authorities declared the schools closed for a week following the shooting and shelling in Myanmar near the Bandarban border.

However, Bandarban District Education Officer Sarit Kumar Chakma told TBS over the phone that he is not aware of any such decision.

Saleha Begum, a resident of Bhumihin Para area on the border, told TBS, "I was always afraid of sending my kids to school. Now I am relieved that the schools have been closed."

She claimed that the headmaster of the school has announced the closure of the school. 

However, the matter could not be confirmed by The Business Standard.

Bandarban Deputy Commissioner Yeasmin Parveen Tibriji and Naikhongchhari Upazila Nirbahi Officer Salma Ferdous could not be reached for comment despite multiple attempts over phone.  

Additional Deputy Commissioner (Education and ICT) Dr Md Sheikh Chhadek told The Business Standard, "There is no direction from the district administration in this regard. However, the headmasters of the local schools may have taken this decision due to the current situation."

Fears grip people living by the bordering villages in Bandarban, as some 35 families of Konarpara of Bandarban's Tumbru moved to their relatives on Saturday (17 September). 

On Friday (16 September), a 15-year-old Rohingya boy was killed and at least six people were injured when mortar shells fired from Myanmar exploded in Bangladesh – the latest in a series of violent incidents.

For more than a month, the "Arakan Army '' has been fighting with Myanmar's security forces in the country's Rakhine state across Bangladesh's Ghumdhum border at Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban. During this period, mortar shells have landed inside Bangladesh multiple times, with Myanmar also violating Bangladesh's airspace.      

Bangladesh this month issued a statement expressing deep concern over falling mortar shells inside Bangladesh territory, indiscriminate aerial firing from Myanmar in the bordering areas, and air space violation from Myanmar.

The Myanmar envoy in Dhaka was summoned multiple times in recent weeks so that those concerns could be conveyed.