Kawkhali villagers flee homes
Gunfight between pro and anti-peace factions
Panicked villagers are fleeing homes in remote hills in Kawkhali and taking shelter at the upazila headquarters as rival armed indigenous factions are locked in gunfights since Monday for supremacy in the area.
One of the factions supports the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Agreement signed in 1997 during the Awami League rule and the other opposes it, some of the villagers who took shelter at Kawkhali told this correspondent yesterday.
At least 19 families have taken shelter in the small town, said Kalongoy Chakma who fled homes.
The pro-peace accord armed faction has launched a massive search of anti-peace elements in the entire upazila, he said.
The anti-peace activists belong to UPDF (United Peoples Democratic Front), he said.
Kawkhali upazila is knwon as a UPDF stronghold.
Police and army sources confirmed the incident.
"We are preparing for a raid in the entire area", said an army source.
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