UPDF, JSS infighting kills 120 in a year

At least 120 people from Bangalee and ethnic communities were killed in clashes between extremist outfits United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) and Parbatya Chattogram Jana Sanghati Samity (JSS) over the past year, said Lt (retd) Saifullah Khan Saif, president of Ex-Forces Association, at a seminar on Wednesday.
He made the disclosure while presenting data at the seminar “Restoring Peace and Sovereignty in the Chittagong Hill Tracts”, held at the Jatiya Press Club.
Saif said 96 incidents of gunfire linked to internal rivalries among hill groups took place in the region over the year, with around 21,000 rounds exchanged between the warring factions, resulting in these deaths.
He alleged that extortion in the region amounts to Tk 1,000-1,200 crore annually across 41 sectors, with Santu Larma-led JSS collecting the largest share of about Tk 450 crore.
“Everyone in the government knows about this extortion, but no action has been taken. Anyone who refuses to pay is shot dead in public,” he said, adding that Santu Larma holds meetings abroad against the interests of the country.
He further alleged that UPDF leader Prasit Bikash Khisa recently demanded Tk 3 crore in extortion over the installation of a mobile tower, while Michael Chakma has been openly collecting extortion since then without facing arrest.
The organisation placed seven demands for restoring peace in the Hill Tracts. The demands include resisting armed groups, reviewing the CHT Peace Accord, taking legal action against those involved in anti-state activities, increasing Army camps and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Border Outposts (BOPs) in the hills, establishing permanent Army camps in conflict-prone areas, bringing ethnic residents under the income tax net, and allowing Bangalees to purchase land in the CHT.
Speakers said peace must be restored in the CHT at any cost and demanded, if necessary, the establishment of an Army cantonment in the region.