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DHAKA: At least 18 villagers were injured during a two-hour firefight between Indian and Bangladeshi troops across the troubled border, a security official in Dhaka said Monday.
The shoot-out occurred Sunday after indigenous Indian tribal people entered Bangladeshi territory to fish, local border chief Colonel Jahirul Alam said.
"Bangladeshi villagers tried to prevent them fishing. Indian border security forces started shooting, and our guards fired back," he said.
The 18 injured Bangladeshis have been admitted to hospital, he added.
Officials in New Delhi were unable to confirm the reports.
Soldiers from the two countries often exchange gunfire along their 4,000-kilometre border, much of which has been fenced by India.
Early this month the heads of the two countries' border forces met in New Delhi and pledged to scale back confrontations.
- AFP/sc
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