DACCA: Bangla Desh security forces began forced evacuation of thousands of Biharis from two sections of Mirpur aboard requisitioned buses. The source said all male persons of military age would be sent by force to reception centres 15 miles east of Dacca, where their families could join them if they wished. However, a senior Bangla Desh officer at the command post on the outskirts of Mirpur said that all of the inhabitants of the two sections including women, would be evacuated, because those who remained behind might be considered “enemies”.

This morning [Feb 4] one could hear the sounds of recoilless guns, mortar and light weapons in the Mirpur district. Highly authoritative sources said it was absolutely necessary to end the armed resistance in the district and the refusal of the mainly Bihari population to obey Government orders to hand in their weapons. A Bangla Desh source said that houses from which troops had been fired on with automatic weapons had been hit and demolished. Explosions rocked Mirpur and there were reports that Bengali troops were engaged in combat with the beleaguered residents. … Army officers said troops were conducting house-to-house search for arms and that about 400 weapons had been unearthed..

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2022