Maungdaw, Arakan: Members of the Rohingya community and a section of the authority clashed yesterday at noon, in which three soldiers were seriously injured, a local person said.

The location of the clash was in Balukhali village, Thaychange village tract, under the Burmese border security force, (Nasaka) section number 3, in the northern part of Maungdaw.

Yesterday, three soldiers of the fence controlling group managed and ordered the local people (Rohingya), around, who had been forced to work at the site of the fencing area of Balukhali, without wages day by day. They had been starved and were weak, said a person, who had fled from the site to Bangladesh.

At the site, the soldiers beat the Rohingya workers which angered the Rohingya workers, and then the clash occurred. Three solider were injured, he added. The soldiers were taken to the near Nasaka section number 4, where they will get medical treatment.  

The news spread in the area and the local Rohingya villagers started escaping from their village, fearing arrest and torture, a local person from the village, who was hiding in another village said.

Most of the male villagers fled from their village and are hiding anywhere they can, said a school teacher from Bawli Bazaar.

Today, a section of the army arrived in the village of Balukhali from Buthidaung Tactical Operation Commander’s (TOC) office with Nasaka personnel from section 3 and 4 and searched the villagers, but they could not find any villagers, so they arrested those, who were found in the village. Mostly the women were arrested, he added.

Khala Meah, a shrimp pond owner from the border of Bangladesh, who was living opposite to the village, heard, “One child, a 5 year old boy, was killed by a solider, who kicking him while the army passed near his house. But, still not know where the dead body was.”

When asking to the people near villages about killing of boy, nobody confirmed and saying they were not able to go there as army personnel were looking villagers in the village.

It is likely, that there may be an influx of refugees from this area to Bangladesh, as the army is going to torture the women and children of the village, Meah added.

The authority arrested 12 Rohingya from Balukhali village and the commander ordered to arrest other who are in the list, Meah more added.

In the fencing area worksite of Balukhli, around 200 people worked as forced labourers.