Sound of explosions in the Bangladesh-Myanmar border areas have ceased since Friday night.
Meanwhile, the ship suspected to be from Myanmar, which had spotted across the Naf River near the Teknaf border for the past three days, has not been seen since Saturday morning.
Khorshed Alam, panel chairman of St Martin's Island union, said, "The Myanmar ship was stationed across the Naf River even on Friday evening. It has not been seen there since Saturday morning, indicating it left sometime during the night."
He added that no sounds of firing
have been heard from the other side of the border since Friday morning.
Mohammad Amin, a businessman of Mistripara, Shahpari Island in Teknaf, said the night was spent in fear due to the sound of explosions and gunshots. Smoke was also seen rising from some parts of Myanmar.
Fear gripped the border residents after sounds of explosions and gunshots heard from the Myanmar side on June 12.
After the explosions, residents of the border area reported that a large ship had been visible near Myanmar, opposite Moulvipara in Teknaf Sadar Union.
They claimed the ship belonged to the Myanmar Navy. The ship was seen shooting at forces on Myanmar land.
"The internal conflict in Myanmar is being monitored. Service trawlers are using alternate routes to St Martin's Island, and food was also sent," said Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Adnan Chowdhury.
Earlier in the day, Awami League (AL) General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said efforts are being made to resolve the issue of Myanmar's firing reaching Saint Martin's Island through discussions with the country.
"Our neighboring country Myanmar has some internal crises. They have 54 ethnic groups. There are conflicts among them. It will be very unfortunate if we suffer from their internal crisis," he said at a press conference at the AL president's office in Dhanmondi.
Vessel with food reaches S Martin’s amid crisis
Meanwhile, a vessel named ‘FB-Baro Awlia’ reached at Saint Martin’s Island on Friday, carrying 75 tonnes of food provided by the local administration and 150 tonnes of food from traders.
The vessel departed from Nuniarchhara ghat in Cox’s Bazar around 1 pm, confirmed ship’s director Hossain Mohammad Bahadur.
Additional District Magistrate Yeamin Hossian said that the food was sent under VGED and VGF programs, along with five cattle for Eid-ul-Azha, 300 packets of dry foods, medical equipment, and three midwives.
The vessel reached the island around 6:30 pm, said Saint Martin’s Union Parishad Chairman Mujibur Rahman.
On Thursday, four trawlers with hundreds of residents stranded in Cox’s Bazar due to Myanmar unrest reached the island.
Over 10,000 island residents have been facing severe food shortages following the suspension of vessel operations on the Teknaf-Saint Martin’s Island route, disrupted since February due to escalating violence in Myanmar. Frequent gunfire along the Teknaf border has further disrupted the movement of goods and people, causing panic among residents.
The prices of food items have dropped in St Martin's Island hours after a tourist ship ferried food and other daily essentials to the island during the early hours of Saturday.
The price of the food essentials has reduced after the ship reached around 12:00am, Mujibor Rahman, chairman of St Martin Island said on Saturday.
"We are now distributing the rice of the government food assistance programme among the marginalised people. Businessmen also brought huge quantities of food items and other essentials that would last around a month. The current food crisis has been resisted by this food supply," he added.
However, people of the islander are anxious as their movement has been restricted within the island as the water transportation service remains suspended for 10 days, he added.
If any medical emergencies arise, initiatives would be taken by the administration, the chairman said.
2,300 families in St Martin's Island get govt relief after conflict in Myanmar isolates the area
The government on Saturday started distributing rice to 2,303 families on Saint Martin's island as the ongoing conflict inside Myanmar halted shipping toward the island, causing a shortage of food and daily necessities.
The ship MV Baro Aulia carrying goods from Cox's Bazar reached the island yesterday around 11:30pm and the distribution began this morning, Mujibur Rahman, chairman of Saint Martin's Island Union Parishad, said.
The distribution is expected to be completed within a few days, he added.
The chairman said there was a food crisis on the island for the past few days and the people of St Martin's are feeling relieved to get the food items.
