Myanmar troops now started to opt for new border pockets for entering Bangladesh to survive instead of using Tumbru-Ghumdhum border point.
As many as 64 more armed Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) members escaped to Bangladesh through Whykong in Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar district on Wednesday.
With this, to date, Bangladesh has provided asylum to 328 members of the Myanmar forces, including Border Guard Police (BGP), army personnel, and immigration officials, amidst ongoing clashes with the Arakan Army.
Earlier, Members of Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) entered Bangladesh through three points along the Tumbru-Ghumdhum border between Bangladesh and Myanmar. This time Members of BGP chose the Whykong border in Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar district to enter Bangladesh.
Unable to survive during the fighting with the Arakan Army, members of the Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) fled to Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has responsibly disarmed the asylum-seeking Myanmar forces, ensuring their safety and security within Bangladesh’s borders. They are currently in BGB custody.
Teknaf 2 BGB Battalion Commander Lt Col M Mohiuddin Ahmed said that the BGP members who entered through the border have been sheltered at the Whykong border outpost. Today around 1.30 pm, it was seen in front of the Whykong border outpost in Teknaf, Myanmar BGP members are entering the Bangladesh part under the guard of BGB members. Hundreds of people crowded around.
Several members of the Myanmar BGP are wearing uniforms. Some are wearing shorts. Most of them have mud stains on their hands and feet. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) headquarters public relations officer (PRO) Md Shariful Islam said “64 members of BGP entered Bangladesh by crossing the Naf River on Wednesday through Teknaf’s Egaro Kanir Matha border in Whykong.
Confirming the matter, Whykong Union Parishad (UP) Chairman Nur Ahmad Anwari said that the escaped BGP members were on duty at the Nasidong Totar Deep outpost on the other side.
Due to the war across the border, fearing for their lives, the locals left their homes in search of safe shelter along the border.
BGB Director General Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui inspected the border situation at the Tumbru and Ghumdhum areas in the Naikhongchhari upazila on Wednesday.
The BGB Chief clarified that the incidents of gunfire are part of an internal conflict within Myanmar, some of which have spilled over into Bangladesh and caused casualties.
“This is an internal conflict in Myanmar. We are on alert. Sadly, some gunfire has crossed into our territory and caused damage to us," he said.
He said these in a press briefing held at Ghumdhum High School in Naikhongchhari upazila.
He also said that Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry has communicated strong protests to Myanmar's Foreign Ministry and is taking necessary steps to address the issue.
The BGB chief said that the process of sending them back to Myanmar as soon as possible is underway. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs are discussing with Myanmar in this regard. Talked to those who have taken shelter. They are also eager to return quickly.
Major General Siddiqui said “The border situation is fully under control, and we are dedicated to managing it with patience, humanitarian considerations, and in a manner that respects our international obligations, as directed by the prime minister. Any illegal entry into Bangladesh under any circumstances will not be permitted.”
Major General Siddiqui’s directive to the border guards highlighted the importance of professionalism and vigilance in safeguarding the border against any arising challenges.
BGB Director General inquired about the welfare of Myanmar security forces and army personnel who sought refuge in Bangladesh during the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar.
Shootings and mortar shell firings have been reported in the bordering areas of Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhiya and Bandarban’s Naikhongchhari, adjacent to Myanmar since 3 February.
Earlier, on Monday, two people were killed and a child was injured after a mortar shell, reportedly fired by Myanmar, fell on the Ghumdum border in Bandarban.
The length of Bangladesh’s border with Myanmar is about 283 km. A major part of it fell in Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar districts.
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 the northern Shan state along the border with China.
Currently, the number of Rohingya registered in 33 shelter camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf is 12 lakh. Of these, 7 lakh came from Rakhine State in the months after August 25, 2017. Even in six years of the Rohingya influx, not a single Rohingya could be sent back to Myanmar. Although repatriation was attempted twice before, it failed.
