CHTC urges govt to address 'targeted killings' in the hills
The International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) today called upon the government to address an "alarming trend of targeted killings" of youth leaders of indigenous community people in the CHT region.
In a statement, the commission strongly condemned recent killings of four indigenous community activists and urged the government to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The commission believes that the killing of these young activists is a method to "terrorise and intimidate" the indigenous community, reads the statement.
It's an attempt to suppress the emerging indigenous community leadership, the statement said adding that this trend is persisting for years with impunity.
Expressing deep shock, CHTC said though local journalists could reach the scene quickly, it took 19 hours for the law enforcers to arrive.
Police recovered the four bullet-hit bodies, three of who were aged between 29 and 32 and another one 49, from Khagrachhari's Panchhari upazila on Tuesday.
United People's Democratic Front (UPDF), a regional organisation, claimed that the victims were its members. They were shot dead by their rivals on the previous night, alleged UPDF leaders.
UPDF leaders also claimed that three of their activists went missing after the attack.
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