Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Director General (DG) Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui on Tuesday said border situation is still under control in light of the ongoing conflict between the Myanmar military and the armed rebel group Arakan Army.
“Besides, around 65 Rohingyas, who tried to enter the country by boats, were sent back. No more Rohingyas will be allowed in,” the newly-appointed BGB chief said while talking to reporters after paying tribute at the mausoleum of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Tungipara, Gopalganj.
He said that until Monday night, 115 members of Myanmar security forces had taken shelter in Bangladesh and 114 more arrived till Tuesday morning. Thirty-five more entered in the afternoon.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel detain a Myanmar national (C), who crossed the Bangladesh-Myanmar border illegally, in Ukhia on February 6, 2024 — AFP Photo
“So far, 264 Myanmar security personnel have surrendered. We have given them shelter and food. Among them, 15 were injured. Eight of them are undergoing treatment at Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital and Chattogram Medical College and Hospital,” he said.
The BGB chief stated, “We are dealing with this situation with patience and a humanitarian approach, while also maintaining positive international relations. Our actions align with the prime minister's directives.”
Asking about the government's plans regarding the heated situation at the border, Ashrafuzzaman said, “The government, especially the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoFA), is actively engaged in addressing the situation. Besides, MoFA is in constant communication with Myanmar, and the border forces of both countries are coordinating efforts.”
He added, “The focus is on facilitating the return of dependents, with Myanmar expressing cooperation in this matter. There is optimism that the reinstatement will occur soon.”
On Monday, two people including a Bangladeshi woman were killed following an explosion of a mortar shell, he further said, adding, “Such deaths can’t be acceptable.”
“We have issued a protest note in this regard. Today, Myanmar's defence attaché met with me to resolve the situation by engaging all parties,” the BGB chief said.
'264 Myanmar forces take shelter'
A total of 264 Myanmar forces including BGP, army personnel and immigration officials have taken shelter in Bangladesh, said Shariful Islam, public relations officer (PRO) of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
The Myanmar forces have entered Bangladesh through Tumbru border in Naikhangchhari upazila of Bandarban district with arms and ammunition.
The BGB disarmed them and took them to a safe shelter, he said.
The BGB PRO said members of the BGP started taking shelter in Bangladesh since Sunday morning.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, a RPG anti-tank grenade landed beside Ghumdhum High School in Bandarban’s Naikhongchhsri upazila from Myanmar around 11am, Ghumdhum Union Parishad chairman AKM Jahangir Aziz said.
A Bangladeshi woman and a Rohingya man were killed following an explosion of a mortar shell at a house in Jolpaitoli under Ghumdum union of Naikhongchhari upazila in Bandarban district on Monday.
Amid the ongoing unrest along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, academic activities of five government primary schools in Naikhangchhari upazila have been suspended.
The government has taken the decision considering the safety of the teachers and students. A notification was issued in this regard on Monday.
The Arakan Army is the well-trained and well-armed military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority movement, which seeks autonomy from Myanmar’s central government.
It is a member of the armed ethnic group alliance that recently gained strategic territory in Myanmar’s northeast. Along with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army — operating together under the name of the Three Brotherhood Alliance — it launched a coordinated offensive on October 27, 2023 in northern Shan state along the border with China.
That offensive has posed the greatest battlefield challenge to Myanmar’s military rulers since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
The alliance says it has seized more than 250 military outposts, five official border crossings and a major city near the Chinese border, along with several important towns, according to an AP report.
Rakhine is where a brutal army counterinsurgency operation in 2017 drove about 740,000 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority to seek safety across the border in Bangladesh. Rakhine is also known by its older name of Arakan.
