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A group of people standing around a motorcycle on a dirt road. by Tanvir Ahmed Rahat via Unsplash, October 11, 2023
A young man was killed in Cox’s Bazar after a confrontation between the Air Force and local residents.
A young man was killed during a conflict between Sheikh Hasina Air Base and local residents in Cox’s Bazar. The incident occurred on February 24th, 2025 after the two groups clashed with one another, resulting in hundreds of injured people. The Bangladesh Armed Forces claim that local residents attacked the air base and attempted to set it on fire (Sharma, 2025). Tensions between the two groups have been growing due to an expansion of the military base in Cox’s Bazar. Locals were protesting against the government’s move to evict people from the area and were on their way to speak with the district administrator when they were stopped at a military checkpoint (Sharma, 2025). The confrontation broke out after soldiers stopped a man on a motorcycle for not wearing a helmet. The air force base has stated that the motorcyclist did not have the appropriate paperwork (Alam, 2025). The man was taken into the military base for interrogation. Roughly 200 people from a nearby town, Samitipara, advanced on the base while military personnel blocked their paths, causing a clash to break out between the two groups (Alam, 2025). Social media videos show soldiers opening fire and residents throwing rocks.
The deceased has been identified as Shihab Kabir Nahid, who was injured during the clash and transported to the hospital, where he later died. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), which is the public relations division of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, claims that air force personnel fired blank rounds and did not use live ammunition against civilians (Aziz, 2025). Locals in the area claim that the air force base illegally attacked unarmed local people and are advocating for a free and fair investigation into the incident.
Sources and further reading:
Alam, J. (2025). Residents attack Bangladesh Air Force Base and clash with soldiers, leaving 1 dead. Retrieved on March 5th, 2025 from https://apnews.com/article/bangladesh-air-force-base-altercation-33b37f7885b6f7ad45c9e853cabe69e5#:~:text=DHAKA%2C%20Bangladesh%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94,several%20others%2C%20local%20media%20reported.
Aziz, A. (2025, February 24). One killed, several injured in clash at air force base in Cox’s Bazar. Retrieved on March 1st, 2025 from https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/nation/374614/youth-killed-in-clash-over-airport-expansion-in.
Sharma, S. (2025). One dead and several injured in clashes at Air Force Base in Bangladesh. Retrieved on March 1st, 2025 from https://www.the-independent.com/asia/south-asia/bangladesh-coxs-bazar-attack-air-force-base-b2704035.html.
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