Bangladeshi security forces rescued 57 people, including Rohingya refugees, from an armed human trafficking gang in Cox’s Bazar district on Nov. 5. An army soldier died in the gunfight during the operation.
The operation took place in the remote Rangikhali hills of Teknaf, between Rohingya refugee camps 24 and 26. The area shelters hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled persecution and military violence in neighbouring Burma.
Bangladesh’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a statement on the raid. Intelligence reports indicated a gang of 15 to 16 armed traffickers held about 120 Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals hostage in the hills.
A joint team launched the rescue operation around 5 p.m. The team included personnel from the Bangladesh Army’s 10th Infantry Division, Border Guard Bangladesh and local police.The traffickers opened fire after they detected the security forces, the military said.
A bullet hit 27-year-old army soldier Md. Titas Sheikh in the left shoulder. He lost a large amount of blood. Medics first took him to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment. Staff then transferred him to the Combined Military Hospital in Ramu, where doctors pronounced him dead.
Security personnel rescued 57 hostages despite the armed resistance. They detained five suspected members of the trafficking network. Locals said the network planned to transport the captives to Malaysia by sea.