Bangladesh News

The Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) yesterday decided to withdraw within 5:00pm today the troops they had deployed along the border during the recent firefight at Zakiganj in Sylhet.

BDR officials said the decision came at a flag meeting held at Harinagar village in India.

“The two sides also decided that the borderlands will be the same as they were before the fight at Zakiganj,” Sylhet BDR Sector Commander Col Abul Hossain, who led a 15-member Bangladesh side at the meet, told The Daily Star.

He said their counterparts in India have expressed sorrow at the casualties and loss of properties in Bangladesh in the 14-hour gunfight that started Wednesday night.

Besides, both the sides decided to obey the Border Land Agreement, 1974.

BDR officials said the meeting was held between 11:30am and 6:15pm. The BSF had a 13-member team to take part in the meeting.

Meanwhile, some of the families who had fled from the gun battle returned to their villages yesterday.

The panic-stricken people of 15 bordering villages left their homes as the BDR and BSF were trading gunshots. Around 10,000 bullets and 400 mortar shells were fired in the fight that ended Thursday noon.