On 2 February 1992 Bangladesh army backed Muslim settlers killed at least 30 indigenous Chakma Buddhists at Mallya. One of them was Mrs. Suradini Chakma the wife of Manek Kumar Chakma. Two bombs exploded on a river ferry at Mallya. The explosion killed a passenger and seriously injured the skipper of the ferry. The survivors swam ashore but the armed Muslim settlers were waiting for them and attacked the indigenous Chakma Buddhists - men women and children.

Bangladesh Rifles massacre over 200 indigenous people in Matiranga

1. Prelude to Massacre

   In the early months of 1986, law enforcement personnel raided indigenous villages in Panchari, Khagrachari and Dighinala area and a little further south in Naniachar and Mohalchari area in efforts to force the inhabitants to move to joutha khamars (collective farms, concentration camps).

   Shanti Bahini declared its intention to obstruct polling in the Chittagong Hill Tracts at general elections due to be held throughout the country on 8 May 1986. Shanti Bahini had called upon the indigenous people to boycott the general election.

   0n 29 April 1986, Shanti Bahini had attacked several Muslim settlements near the Indian border in Matiranga, Khagrachari district killing at least 38 Muslim settlers. 3 large groups of Shanti Bahini attacked BDR border outposts at Assalong, Chota Assalong and Taidong facing the border post of Bhagwantilla in India. This attack was the first of a number of operations launched by the Shanti Bahini over the next few months. Reprisals by Bangladesh army, BDR, Ansars and Muslim settlers began immediately after 29 April.

2. Massacre

   In mid May of 1986, a large group of indigenous people were fleeing from their homes. Most of them belonged to the Tripura tribe, rest were Chakmas. They were moving towards the Indian border at Silachari in southern Tripura. Their presence in the area appears to have been known for some time to Bangladesh law enforcement personnel. They were eventually discovered, by the 31st battalion of the BDR (Bangladesh Rifles). BDR surrounded them and made them walk into a narrow valley between the villages of Comillatilla and Taidong. In the restricted space of this valley, the soldiers opened fire indiscriminately at the group, killing an unknown number of indigenous people. Once the firing had ceased, a number of Muslim settlers have further attacked the group.

   A Chakma tribal from the Matiranga area described the experience of his family to Amnesty International:

   "We were a group of 52 families and we left Matiranga in the first week of May after persistent Bangladesh arny raids in which several villagers were killed. But we were not as fortunate as the other Chakmas who are living in the camps here. We were caught on the way by a small Bangladesh patrol. Even though we were able to evade this one and slip into the jungles our escape route had been discovered.

   As the troops persisted in pursuit, we made slow progress. On 19 May we thought we had finally made it when the border area seemed to be close by. But it was at that stage that a large group of the 31st Battalion of BDR caught up with us.

   We had no chance to escape. The troops told us to form a tight group. They surrounded us and marched us to a narrow valley between the villages of Comillatilla and Taidong.

   As soon as the whole group was inside the valley the troops crouched and took positions atound us and began to fire indiscriminately. Suddenly all we could hear were screams and people were dying all over. While we were recovering from the shock suddenly hundreds of Muslims, who were hiding in nearby hills, also pounced on us. My estimate is that at least 200 people, which is more than half of us were killed. I can hardly tell the names because there were so many. There were Ramcharan Tripura, Ghanshyam Triputa, his wife and four children, Minoti Chakma and her husband, Parobati, Kaushalya Tripura and several others. The troops were firing with automatic weapons and the firing continued as if it were a hail storm. fhose of us who escaped in the confusion later regrouped in the jungles and again in desperation approached the Indian border."

   A Tripuri tribal also testified to Amnesty International of the Bangladeshi soldiers' wilful killing of indigenous villagers:

   "I am chief of a large colony of Tripuri tribals and we used to live a little outside Matiranga. Around the end of Aptil and early May, when the Shanti Bahini began raids on the BDR, army and Muslims, the soldiers began to come and bother us. We told them we were not even Chakmas and had thus nothing to do with the Shanti Bahini. But they harassed us.

   Later on 8 May, they came in strength and began to burn our village. The officer in charge said 'you Hindus heve no place in Bangladesh' and asked us to run away. We decided to flee along with some Chakma families in our neighbourhood. But the soldiers did not even let us run away in peace. They chased us and we hid in the jungles in the day, making some progress by night.

   Last Sunday (l8 May) we were approaching the border when a large group of soldiers caught us. The officer said that we would be treated nicely and settled back. He asked us to walk back. The soldiers were around us.

   They taok us to a narrow valley between Taidong and Comillatilla and there suddenly we heard thousands of bullats and shrieks and screams of our people. At least 200 of our people, mainly Tripuris died. I do not even have any trace of my family. I do not know whether my family members are still in hiding somewhere or if they got killed.

   As bullets rained from all sides the Muslims too descended on valley, raping women and killing people with swords, spears and knives; we all ran for our lives in [the] direction of India."

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