Bangladesh: Rohingya youth killed by mortar shells from Myanmar

A Rohingya teenager has been killed when mortar shells fired from Myanmar exploded in Bangladesh.

At least six other people were injured in the incident late on Friday, said Dil Mohammed, a Rohingya leader in no-man's land, which is along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border where an estimated 4,000 Rohingya live.

READ MORE: Bangladesh seeks China's help for Rohingya repatriation

"We are living here in constant fear. Anytime any catastrophe can happen," he said.

Lieutenant-General Faizur Rahman, head of operations of the Border Guards Bangladesh, also confirmed the death of the teenager.  Sources claim he was between 15 to 18 years old.

Troops have secured the frontier and strong protests will be lodged with Myanmar, Rahman added.

Caught in the crossfire

More than a million Rohingya are living in camps in southern Bangladesh that comprise the world's largest refugee settlement, the vast majority having fled from Myanmar during a military crackdown in 2017.

The Rohingya have been caught in the crossfire between Myanmar's military and the Arakan Army, an armed group fighting for self-determination for ethnic minorities in Rakhine state.

Friday's events are the latest in a series of incidents where shells have exploded in Bangladesh, but the first to cause a fatality.

READ MORE: UN chief Guterres: Rohingya must be part of Myanmar crisis solution

Earlier this month, Dhaka expressed "deep concern over falling mortar shells inside Bangladesh territory, indiscriminate aerial firing from Myanmar in the bordering areas, and air space violation from Myanmar".

Bangladesh's foreign ministry has summoned Myanmar's envoy in Dhaka three times in recent weeks to convey the country's "grave concerns" over the mortar shells.

Dhaka hopes that repatriation of the Rohingya will start later this year, but experts say the clashes between the Myanmar military and rebels mean the conditions do not exist for the Rohingya to agree to return to their villages.