Teknaf teenager Huzaifa Afnan (12), who was injured in a gunfight with Myanmar border guards, has died after battling for 27 days. She died on Saturday morning while undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Neuroscience and Hospital in Dhaka.
Huzaifa was seriously injured in a gunfight from Myanmar near Techi Bridge in Hoi Kyung area of Teknaf on January 11. He was initially treated at the ICU of Chittagong Medical College Hospital, but was sent to Dhaka as the bullet in his head could not be removed. Doctors performed surgery to relieve pressure on his brain, but his condition remained critical.
Huzaifa’s death has raised new concerns about the safety of civilians on the Teknaf border. The recent increase in airstrikes, drone attacks and shelling in Myanmar’s Rakhine state is having an impact on the border towns of Bangladesh. Locals complain that houses are regularly shaking from the sound of gunfire and shelling from the conflict on the other side.
The death of the child has cast a shadow of grief over the area. Local residents have demanded urgent and effective government action at the border to ensure the safety of unarmed people.