BANGLADESH - A Rwandan refugee was lightly wounded at the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar after firing from a Myanmar border security center, officials said.
Nour al-Islam, 15, was a cow-keeper when 17 shots were fired from the Rimongkhale border post, according to Bangladesh border police spokesman Iqbal Ahmed.
"The bullet has scratched the elbow of Ahmed's hand, which was lucky," the spokesman said, adding that the boy was living in Baluchali refugee camp in the south-eastern Cox-Bazar region of Bangladesh.
He added that Bangladeshi border guards would send a protest to their counterparts in Myanmar over the shooting.
A Bangladeshi official, who did not reveal his identity, said the incident could be aimed at delaying the repatriation of Rohingya refugees scheduled for next week.
"Otherwise, why do they shoot at Bangladeshi territory? They want to pressure the refugees and the United Nations."
Officials from Bangladesh and Myanmar said last week that some 2,000 Rohingyas could return to their homes in Rakhine state as part of the deportation plan.
More than 720,000 stateless Rohingya people fled Myanmar after a brutal military crackdown in August last year and set up camps in Bangladesh.
