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An exchange of gunfire and chases between security forces and armed groups erupted over a road blockade in Ujobaazar area of Sajek Union in Rangamati’s Baghaichhari upazila on Thursday.
The incident occurred around 11am on October 22 as security personnel attempted to remove barricades to ensure the safe passage of tourists stranded in Sajek.
Around 3,000 tourists have since reached Khagrachhari under security escort, according to relevant sources.
Local sources said the Sajek Karbari Association and the Sajek Gana Odhikar Rakkha Committee jointly announced an indefinite road blockade for the third time on Wednesday afternoon. Protesters began occupying the Sajek road in Ujobaazar from Thursday morning.
When security personnel tried to clear the barricades to escort the stranded tourists, protesters initially threw bricks and stones. Gunfire and chases between the two sides followed.
Mohammad Jasim Uddin, a driver of a Mahindra vehicle on the Sajek route, said he had left Sajek with security personnel around 8:30am on Thursday. The protesters stopped their convoy in Ujobaazar at around 11am.
They were stranded there for nearly 40 minutes before security forces used batons to disperse the protesters and reopen the road. They reached Sajek at around 12:40pm, he said.
Rahul Chakma Jan, organising secretary of the Sajek Cottage and Resort Owners Association, said around 3,000 tourists had reached Khagrachhari from Sajek.
Sajek Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Toffazzal Hossain said protesters had stopped tourists returning from Sajek in Ujobaazar, but security forces later arranged for their safe passage.
“The situation in Sajek remains tense,” he said, adding that the tourists had reached Khagrachhari under security escort.
On Wednesday, Sajek Karbari Association President Natun Joy Chakma and Sajek Gana Odhikar Rakkha Committee Convener Babudhan Chakma jointly announced the renewed blockade, beginning Thursday, for an indefinite period.
In their statement, the organisations alleged that armed members of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (JSS), led by Santu Larma, had been active in different parts of Sajek. They accused the group of threatening and intimidating residents, forcing people to leave their homes and confiscating villagers’ mobile phones.
The organisations also claimed that ordinary jum cultivators had been unable to tend their fields because of the situation.
They said the blockade would continue until their demands for public safety and the removal of the alleged armed members from the area were met.
Natun Joy Chakma said discussions with security forces were ongoing, but the blockade would not be withdrawn unless their three demands were addressed.
The blockade had been suspended for six days, from October 16 to 21, out of respect for the Durga Puja festival.
