| Submit your comments on this article |
| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| India warns Bangladesh against "unprovoked attacks" on border |
| 2005-04-19 |
| India warned Bangladesh on Monday not to escalate border tensions by ``unprovoked attacks'' following a weekend skirmish that left two persons dead. ``Unprovoked attack and escalation of tension in the border areas is not healthy for a friendly atmosphere,'' said Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary, Director-General of the Border Security Force (BSF). "We have adequate BSF soldiers on the border to meet any challenge." The warning followed an exchange of fire on Saturday between Bangladeshi and Indian border forces that officials said killed an Indian BSF assistant commandant and a young Bangladeshi girl. Both sides have blamed each other for starting the firing. The weekend gunbattle along Bangladesh's eastern Akhaura border erupted as talks between Bangladeshi and Indian officials in Dhaka on ending rows over New Delhi's fencing of their common 4,095-km frontier and other security issues ended without resolution. India says it is building the fence to prevent rebels, illegal migrants and smugglers from sneaking across the frontier. Bangladesh does not object to the fence, but it has asked India not to build it within 150 metres of the so-called ``zero line,'' saying it violates a 1974 agreement between the two countries. Both countries also routinely charge each other with sheltering rebels and criminals. ``During our Dhaka meeting, we did not get a positive response in resolving important issues like handing over Indian militant leaders, destroying militant camps, and checking illegal migration from across the border,'' the BSF official said. The Indian side has alleged Bangladesh has 190 camps run by north-eastern Indian separatist groups on its soil. Bangladesh rejects such charges and has said there are Bangladeshi criminals hiding in India. |
| Posted by:Paul Moloney |