A gunfight between villagers over disputed salt beds left at least three people dead and a dozen others injured Wednesday in southern Bangladesh, police said. Two rival groups tried to capture 20 acres of salt beds in the coastal district of CoxÂ’s Bazar, 295 kilometres south of the capital, Dhaka. Both sides exchanged about 100 rounds of gunfire, and a teenage schoolboy was among the three killed, local police officer Saifuddin Shaheen said. Three people were arrested and security forces were deployed in the area to contain the situation and investigate the incident, he added. At least a dozen wounded villagers were taken to nearby hospitals.
Farmland along BangladeshÂ’s southern coastline is used alternately to raise shrimps or produce salt by retaining seawater. Fights often break out over control of the lucrative businesses.