Theinsurgency in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (Bengali:পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রামে বিদ্রোহ), also known as theChittagong Hill Tracts conflict (Bengali:পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম যুদ্ধ), refers to a political and armed conflict that occurred in Bangladesh in two phases:
The actions then carried out by theArmed Forces and theParbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti groups resulted in casualties on both sides.[12] There were also reports of mass rapes by the paramilitaryBangladesh Ansars, though these claims are disputed.[13] According toAmnesty International as of June 2013, the Bangladeshi government had still not honoured the terms of the peace accord nor addressed the Jumma people's concerns over the return of their land. Amnesty estimated that 90,000 Jumma families had been displaced internally.[14][15]
The origin of the conflict in the Chittagong Hill Tracts dates back to theBritish rule. TheBritish, at the end of the 19th century, reorganized CHT. This resulted in the recognition of three tribal chiefs (rajas) in 1860, (b) enactment of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Frontier Police Regulations in 1881, authorizing a police force from among the hill peoples, and (c) enactment of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulations in 1900, giving them rights and autonomy.
When Bangladesh was theeastern wing of Pakistan, widespread resentment occurred over the displacement of as many as 100,000 natives due to the construction of theKaptai Dam in 1962. The displaced did not receive compensation from the government and many thousands fled to India.
After thecreation of Bangladesh in 1971, representatives of the Chittagong Hill Tracts includingManabendra Narayan Larma demanded for autonomy and recognition of rights for natives in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Larma and other Hill Tracts representatives protested the draft of theConstitution of Bangladesh as it did not recognise the ethnic identity and culture of non-Bengalis of Bangladesh. The government policy recognised onlyBengali culture and theBengali language, and designated all citizens of Bangladesh as Bengalis. In a discussion with a team led by Manabendra Narayan Larma, it was claimed that Bangladesh'sthe then head of state,Sheikh Mujibur Rahman said that the natives of the Chittagong Hill Tracts are all yet still Bengalis and must accept it which later was proven to be a false allegation.[16][17][18]
The migrated hill Jummas were given with special treatment, as they were the minority after independence in 1971.[19] The rebellion by the Jummas began after theindependence of Bangladesh.[20]
M. N. Larma and others founded theParbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) as a united political organisation of all native peoples and tribes in 1973. The armed wing of PCJSS,Shanti Bahini was organised to resist government policies. The crisis aggravated during theregime ofSheikh Mujibur Rahman, and the successivemilitary governments that followed after hisassassination in 1975. In 1977, the Shanti Bahini launched their first attack on aBangladesh Army convoy.[21][17][22]
It is alleged that the Indian government helped the Shanti Bahini set up bases across the border fromBangladesh.[23] According to a spokesperson of Shanti Bahini, they received military assistance from India after theassassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Their spokesman, Bimal Chakma, stated, ''At the beginning we got some consideration, but it is very low compared with what we need.''[24]
The Shanti Bahini divided its area of operations into zones and recruited natives, who were formally trained. The Shanti Bahini led attacks onBangladesh Police and army men, government offices, personnel and Bengalis in the region. The group also attacked any native who didn't support the rebellion against the Bangladeshi government.[25] According to government sources between 1980 and 1991, 1,180 people were killed by the Shanti Bahini, and 582 were kidnapped.[23][26]
400 Chakmas including Anupam Chakma absconded to India to evade arrest or caprure by Bangladeshi forces in 1989.[27] Demographically, Chakmas were the dominant native community in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, so naturallyChakmas dominated theShanti Bahini.[28]
G. M. Mushfiqur Rahman, a lieutenant in the Bangladesh Army posted in 1 Field Artillery Regiment of Bangladesh Army inChittagong Hill Tracts on 8 September 1989 led a 17—member team of Bangladesh Army personnel and attacked a Shanti Bahini camp. Lieutenant Rahman was injured during the clash and died on that day at 8:15 am. He was posthumously awarded withBir Uttom, the second highest award in Bangladesh for individual gallantry.[29]
On 11 September 1996,Shanti Bahini rebels reportedly abducted and killed 28 to 30 Bengali woodcutters.[30]
People living in the Hill Tracts area were often detained and tortured in custody on suspicion of being members of theShanti Bahini or helping them. There were numerous check posts on highways and ferries in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.[31]
People who are detained on suspicion are subjected to severe beating, electrocution, water boarding, hanging upside down, shoving burning cigarettes on bodies etc. Prisoners are detained in pits and trenches. The captives are then taken out for interrogation one at a time.[citation needed]
Peace negotiations were initiated after the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh in 1991, but little progress was made with the government of Prime MinisterBegum Khaleda Zia, the widow of Ziaur Rahman and herBangladesh Nationalist Party.[32] Fresh rounds of talks began in 1996 with the newly elected prime ministerSheikh Hasina Wajed of theAwami League, the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.[32] The peace accord was finalised and formally signed on 2 December 1997.[10]
The agreement recognised the special status of the hill residents.[9] Chakma rebels were still in the Chittagong Hill Tracts as of 2002.[33]
Chakmas also live in Tripura, India where aInsurgency in Tripura lasted between 1989 and 2024.[34]
21 years after the peace treaty on 5 May 2018 unidentified gunmen ambushed and assassinated 5 people in Rangamati district, includingUPDF leader, Tapan Jyoti Chakma. It is suspected the attack was caused by conflicts between factions. This is the deadliest such incident involving the indigenous tribal community since the signing of theChittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord in1997.[35][36]
The secessionistKuki-Chin National Front led byNathan Bom begun to fight for the establishment of a separate autonomous or independent state for theJumma andKuki-Chin people, usingguerilla methods since 2022.[37][38]
Amidst intelligence reports of insurgency buildup in the region, on 20 October 2022, Bangladesh authorities issued a travel ban in theBandarban district.[39]
By early 2023, clashes between KNFcadres and security forces had intensified. On 28 January 2023, a KNA fighter was killed in a gunfight with theBangladesh Army inRuma Upazila, in the Artha Para and Bachlang Para areas, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal.[38][40][41] A few months later, on 17 May 2023, two Bangladesh Army officers were killed and two more wounded in an ambush involving anIED and small-arms fire by KNA fighters.[38][42]
Despite the violence, there were efforts to negotiate. A Peace Establishment Committee was formed under theBandarban Hill District Council in mid-2023 to engage the KNF in talks.[43][44] On 5 March 2024, the KNF agreed to a one-month ceasefire and pledged to refrain from attacks, as part of efforts to sustain dialogue.[44] However, those peace talks broke down: in April 2024, the council announced the suspension of negotiations, as a cause of ongoing KNF attacks and violations of priormemoranda of understanding.[43]
The group’s operations then began to grow bolder. On the night of 2 April 2024, KNF militants carried out a high-profile bank robbery, raiding aSonali Bank branch inRuma, and reportedly looting around 15 milliontakas.[37][45] During the same episode they allegedly abducted the bank manager; he was later released after mediation.[46] In response, Bangladeshi security forces launched a majorpincermovement involving the Army,Rapid Action Battalion (RAB),Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and police.[47][48] Over several operations, they arrested dozens of suspected KNF militants: in April 2024, 53 cadres were detained in multiple coordinated raids.[38][47][49] Meanwhile, on 24 November 2024, the Bangladesh Army confirmed that three KNF militants were killed in a jungle raid in Ruma after a tip-off about a clandestine hideout.[11][50][51]
In May 2025, more than 20,000 combat-style uniforms were seized from a garment factory inChittogong; the police linked the consignment to the KNF.[52] In June 2025, authorities arrested four persons, including a factory director, after seizing a vehicle from which they recovered uniform material allegedly destined for the KNF.[53]
A major development came in 2025 when the Army dismantled a KNF training camp inRuma Upazila. Over a month-long operation from July until August, troops uncovered weapons-training gear, wooden mock rifles, trenches, bunkers, and other infrastructure.[54]
Kongchainyo Marma, the head of the northern armed wing of the Mog Liberation Party, was killed in an army raid inShantinagar,Khagrachhari Sadar Upazila on 15 August.[55]
At the outbreak of the insurgency, the government of Bangladesh deployed the army to begin counter-insurgency operations. The then-presidentZiaur Rahman created theChittagong Hill Tracts Development Board under an army general to address the socio-economic needs of the region, but the entity proved unpopular and became a source of antagonism and mistrust amongst the native people against the government. The government struggled to address the long-standing issue of the displacement of people, numbering an estimated 100,000 caused by the construction of theKaptai Dam in 1962.[56] Displaced people did not receive compensation and more than 40,000 Chakma people had fled to India.[56] In the 1980s, the government began settling Bengalis in the region, causing the eviction of many natives and a significant alteration of demographics. Having constituted only 11.6% of the regional population in 1974, the number of Bengalis grew by 1991 to constitute 48.5% of the regional population.
In 1989, the government of PresidentHossain Mohammad Ershad passed the District Council Act, creating three tiers of local government councils to devolve powers and responsibilities to the representatives of the native peoples; the councils were rejected and opposed by PCJSS.[9]
The persecution of the indigenous tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, including the Chakma,Marma,Tripura and others, who are mainlyBuddhists, has been described as genocidal.[57] There are also accusations of Chakmas being forced to leave their religion, many of them children who have been abducted for this purpose. The government encouraged and sponsored massive settlement of Bangladeshis in the region,[58] which reduced the indigenous proportion of the population from 98 percent in 1971 to fifty percent by 2000.[59] During this conflict, which officially ended in 1997, and during the subsequent period, a large number of human rights violations against the indigenous peoples were reported, with violence against indigenous women being particularly extreme.[60]
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