ONE person died and 10 others were injured outside an air force base in Bangladesh during a clash between military troops and local residents facing eviction from their homes.
The conflict has been developing for several weeks as the military planned to take control of a government-owned parcel of land that houses thousands in the coastal city of Cox's Bazar.
Local resident Mohammad Belal Uddin told AFP that the situation escalated when troops at the base detained a lawyer who had been advocating for residents facing eviction.
"People learned that the lawyer had been picked up," he said. "The news spread like wildfire, and people rushed to the base to rescue him."
Belal said security forces opened fire to disperse the crowd.
Officials at the Cox's Bazar district hospital confirmed that one man died from a head injury.
Another six people were treated for injuries there, police officer Saiful Islam told AFP.
Police officer Mohammad Rahmatullah told AFP that around 2,000 people had gathered near the base before the incident.
A statement from the military's public relations office said that four personnel at the base were also injured in the clash.
It stated that troops fired only blank rounds to disperse the crowd and that the dead man was not killed by gunfire.
Armed forces spokeswoman Ayesha Siddique said the incident was an attack by "miscreants" on the base.
"The Bangladesh Air Force took necessary action," she added.
Health officials across the country have also encouraged individuals with symptoms to isolate and seek testingiStock
