Peace still elusive in CHT even after 23yrs of accord

Chattogram Hill Tracts, Nov 28: Twenty-three years into the peace accord peace in three districts of Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT) is yet to be restored.
At least 97 people have so far been killed in the CHT since January 2018 to October 2020.
According to sources, a vested quarter is plotting to create unrest again at the hill districts.  
According to CHT police and intelligence sources, a total of 97 people have so far been killed in conflicts between four organizations over the last two years.
For the people of the CHT the desired peace seems a far-off dream despite the signing of the CHT Peace Accord almost 23 years ago.
The four organizations are Parbatya Chattogram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS), Jana Samhati Samiti (Reformist-MN Larma), United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) and UPDF (Ganatantrik).
Security agencies and rights groups say over 600 people have been killed in the last 23 years in bloody conflict, along with numerous abductions and assaults.     
Six indigenous activists were shot dead on 7 July in an ambush by a rival group in  Chattaogram      Hill Tracts, police said.
The incident is alarming as it shows the power conflict between several insurgent groups in the hill, according to police
Locals and police said the killing might have taken place over establishing supremacy by two regional groups in the areas.  The people of the country witnessed a cessation of the decades-long violence and conflicts following the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord signed on December 2, 1997 on the initiative of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The treaty was praised by critics, political leaders and others at home and abroad, as it managed to set people free from fear and brought peace in the mountainous lands.
The treaty was signed between the Bangladesh government and the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts), the political organization that controlled the Shanti Bahini militia.
The accord allowed for the recognition of the rights of the peoples and tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region and ended the decades-long insurgency between the Shanti Bahini and government forces.
However, it seems peace is a hard thing to hold on to and people in the districts of the CHT are now again witnessing unrest as four armed tribal groups have started fighting each other over establishing supremacy in the areas.
Violent conflicts are on the rise again and peace in the regions seems to be a far cry.