A delegation from Myanmar, led by Ambassador Aung Kyaw Moe, arrived at the Naval jetty ghat in Inani, Cox’s Bazar district, on Thursday, aboard a speedboat at 9:50 am, to repatriate 330 members of the Myanmar security forces and others who had sought refuge in Bangladesh.
The group had crossed into Bangladesh, fleeing clashes between the Myanmar military and armed rebel groups.
The repatriation, supervised by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), involves individuals including members of the Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP). The process was earlier confirmed by BGB’s public relations officer, Shariful Islam, who also noted that the transfer involved six buses transporting the individuals from Nhila and Ghumdum points to Inani earlier that day.
Home Minister, Asaduzzaman Khan, had previously indicated that the repatriation of these individuals was imminent, amidst ongoing border tensions and skirmishes in the Bandarban’s Naikhongchhari area. In light of the conflict, the BGB and Coast Guard have ramped up surveillance efforts to prevent further crossings.
This border tension has led to casualties on the Bangladeshi side, including the deaths of a Bangladeshi woman and a Rohingya man due to mortar shell impacts from Myanmar. An unidentified body was also found on February 8 in the Rahmaterbil border area of Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, as reported by Md Shamim Hossain, Officer-in-Charge of Ukhiya Police Station.
Additionally, on February 9, BGB personnel detained 23 Rohingyas with 12 firearms and 868 rounds of ammunition as they attempted to cross into Bangladesh. A case was subsequently filed under the Arms Act at Ukhiya police station, with a court ordering a 3-day remand for each individual involved.
Meanwhile, BGB chief said they have strengthened patrolling at the border. BGB remains on high alert and is observing the border situation round-the-clock.
Major General Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui warned that currently, BGB controls the border situation entirely and whatever situation arises, not a single Myanmar citizen will be allowed to enter Bangladesh territory.
However, the impact of Myanmar’s internal conflict felt in the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, as a Bangladeshi woman and a Rohingya man were killed in Bangladesh territory as a mortar shell fell on a house at Jalpaitali village in Ghumdhum union of Naikhongchhari on the night of February 4.
