Chattogram, Jan 12 (V7N) — A Bangladeshi child has been critically injured by gunfire that crossed over from Myanmar and is now on life support in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Chattogram Medical College Hospital.

The incident occurred in Teknaf’s Whykong Union, Cox’s Bazar, where a nine-year-old girl, Huzaifa Afnan, daughter of Josim Uddin, was shot in the face. She was brought to Chattogram Medical College Hospital around 4:30 pm on Sunday (January 11), and immediately admitted to the ICU, according to Nurul Alam Ashek, Officer-in-Charge of the local police outpost.

Huzaifa, a third-grade student at a local school, sustained a gunshot wound that entered her brain from the side of her face. Professor Harun Or Rashid, Head of the Anaesthesia and ICU Department at Chattogram Medical College Hospital, told reporters, “The child’s condition is critical. She has been placed on life support. The bullet penetrated her skull and entered the brain.”

The shooting is linked to ongoing clashes across the border in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, where the Arakan Army and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) have been engaged in heavy fighting for the past three days.

The child was injured on Sunday morning around 9:00 am in the Tejcha Bridge area of Whykong, Teknaf, as gunfire from Myanmar crossed into Bangladesh. Initial reports of her death caused panic among locals, leading residents to block roads in protest. However, authorities later confirmed that she was alive and receiving critical treatment.

Police and hospital authorities continue to monitor her condition closely, and the incident has drawn widespread concern over cross-border violence affecting civilians in Teknaf and surrounding areas.

Authorities have urged residents to remain calm while security and medical teams handle the situation. The ongoing clashes across the Myanmar border continue to pose serious risks to communities on both sides.

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