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방글라데시에서 최근 외국인과 무신론자 블로거 등이 살해되는 사건이 잇따르는 가운데 북부에서 2일(현지시간) 일본인 남성 이 괴한이 쏜 총에 맞아 사망했다.
방글라데시 경찰은 이날 오전 10시30분께 북부 랑푸르 지역 카우니아 마을에서 인력거를 타고 가던 일본인 남성이 괴한의 습격을 받아 살해됐다고 밝혔다.
경찰에 발표에 따르면 이 남성은 랑푸르 시(市)에서 자전거가 끄는 인력거를 타 고 이동하다 오토바이를 탄 괴한 3명에게 가로막혔다.
경찰 관계자는 "괴한 중에 1명이 도주를 위해 오토바이를 잡고 기다리는 사이 나머지 2명은 권총으로 사망자의 가슴을 쐈다"고 설명했다.
경찰은 피해자의 정확한 신원은 발표하지 않았으나 나이는 55∼60세로 랑푸르에 서 농업 관련 프로젝트에 종사하는 사람이었다고 전했다.
이날 일본인 피살 사건은 지난 28일 비정부기구(NGO) 관련 일을 하던 이탈리아 인 남성이 수도 다카의 외교단지 안에서 오토바이를 탄 괴한 3명의 총격을 받아 사 망한 지 닷새 만에 일어났다.
경계가 삼엄한 외교단지 안에서 사건이 벌어진 이 사건 직후 수니파 무장단체 이슬람국가(IS)가 배후를 자처하는 성명을 냈다는 소식이 테러감시단체를 통해 전해 지면서 긴장이 고조됐다.
방글라데시 당국은 이 사건이 IS와 관련돼 있다는 증거가 없다고 강조했지만 다 카의 국제학교가 임시 휴교하고 각국 공관들은 자국민에게 안전에 주의할 것을 당부 했다.
방글라데시는 비교적 온건한 이슬람 국가임을 내세워왔으나 최근 이슬람 극단주 의자들의 활동이 감지되고 있다.
올해 들어 이슬람 극단주의를 비판한 세속주의 블로거 5명이 국제테러조직 알카 에다 추종세력 등에 의해 잇따라 살해됐고, 지난 5월에는 코카콜라의 방글라데시 자 회사의 정보기술(IT) 책임자가 IS 모집 활동을 하다 체포되는 등 수십명이 IS 가담 혐의로 체포됐다. (연합)
<관련 영문 기사>
Japanese man shot dead in Bangladesh, IS claims responsibility
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for shooting dead a Japanese citizen in northern Bangladesh on Saturday, days after they said they were behind the murder of an Italian aid worker in Dhaka.
Police said the latest victim, whom they named as Hoshi Kunio, aged 66, was riding in a rickshaw when he was shot dead in Kaunia town in Rangpur district at about 10:30 am local time (0430 GMT).
“He was travelling to the town from Rangpur city, where he had been living for a while, on a cycle rickshaw when his vehicle was stopped by three men riding on a motorcycle,” deputy police chief of Rangpur, Saifur Rahman, told AFP.
The IS jihadist group later claimed the killing on Twitter, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, a US monitoring organisation.
The shooting came less than a week after a 50-year-old Italian citizen, Cesare Tavella, was shot dead near the capital’s diplomatic zone, an attack that was also claimed by IS.
The Bangladesh government had sought to calm security fears in the country after the first murder on Monday, describing it as an “isolated incident”.
On Saturday, in the wake of the second killing, the government tried to allay mounting concerns over the safety of foreign nationals in the country, saying it was taking both murders “very seriously”.
“The aim of the murder of innocent people in this way is to make an attempt to create instability in the country,” Home Minister Asaduzzaman Kamal said.
Kunio was a frequent visitor to Bangladesh and worked on a farming project in Rangpur, about 300 kilometres (180 miles) north of Dhaka, police said.
“Two of the assailants shot him twice in the chest with pistols while the other waited with the motorbike ready to flee,” local police chief Rezaul Karim said, adding four people had been interrogated over the murder but none had been arrested.
Kunio’s landlord Jakaria Bala told Bengali daily Prothom Alo that the victim had leased a piece of land in a village near Kaunia town to grow grass for cattle.
A Japanese embassy spokesman in Dhaka told AFP that they were seeking more information regarding the deceased.
“According to the information we got from the law enforcement agencies, it appears to indicate that he was a Japanese who is in his 60s,” Takeshi Matsunaga told AFP.
His body was taken to Rangpur Medical College morgue.
United States envoy in Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat said she was “deeply saddened” and demanded swift action.
“I urge the government of Bangladesh to investigate every aspect of this crime and to bring the perpetrators to justice as soon as possible,” she said in a statement.
Bangladesh prides itself on being a mainly moderate Muslim country. But the gruesome killings of a series of atheist bloggers this year have rocked the nation and sparked a crackdown on local hardline Islamist groups.
After the murder of the Italian less than a week ago, international schools closed temporarily and Western embassies restricted their diplomats’ movements, while Australia’s cricket team cancelled a planned tour of the country over security concerns. (AFP)
