88 more Myanmar soldiers seek shelter in Bangladesh
NEWS DESK
Eighty-eight members of the Myanmar Border Guard Police entered Bangladesh on Sunday morning as fighting between the armed ethnic group Arakan Army and Myanmar military rages in the Rakhine state, Bangladesh officials said.
The law enforcement officials in Cox’s Bazar said that the officer and rankers carrying firearms and ammunition crossed bordering River Naf in two boats near Shahporir Dwip at about 10:15am and sought shelter to the Bangladeshi authorities.
The Bangladesh Coast Guard team took them in their custody, disarmed them and handed them over to the Border Guard Bangladesh.
No officials from the BGB or Coast Guard made formal comment on the arrival according to their instruction issued in April.
Foreign ministry director general for Myanmar Miah Md Mainul Kabir confirmed the fresh arrivals and said that over 80 Myanmar force members sought shelter on Sunday.
The Sunday’s arrival was the second one in May with the first ones entering in May 3–4 in which 40 more members of the Myanmar forces sought shelter on Friday night and Saturday morning.
Fleeing members of Myanmar forces and government officials as well have been taking shelter in Bangladesh on different occasions amid the ongoing battle.
In March, 288 members of the forces, crossing River Naf and land border, entered Bangladesh in different times starting from March 11. They were repatriated on April 25.
In February, 330 Myanmar nationals, including BGP officers, army personnel and immigration officials, took shelter in Bangladesh. All of them were repatriated on February 15.
Thailand-based news portal The Irrawaddy on Saturday reported that the Arakan Army seized a border guard headquarters in northern Maungdaw Ttwnship in Rakhine state on Friday.
Referring to the local residents, the news portal said that some junta troops fled to Bangladesh and the regime was launching repeated air and artillery strikes on Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Pauktaw townships on Friday and Saturday.
