330 persons sheltered in Bangladesh sent back to Myanmar

The 330 persons from Myanmar including members of the Border Guard Police (BGP), the armed forces and customs officers, have been sent back under strict security. They were sent back yesterday, Thursday.

In the meantime, intermittent gunfire was heard at the borders near Teknaf upazila’s Shahporir Dwip and Saint Martin’s. However, there was no sound of firing at the border areas of Naikhangchhari in Bandarban, Ukhia in Cox’s Bazar and Howaikang of Teknaf.

From the night of 2 February clashes broke out on the other side of the border from Naikhangchhari, between the Arakan Army and Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP).

Firing has started along the border with Shahporir Dwip of Teknaf upazila and Saint Martin’s. The gun fire was heard intermittently from on Thursday morning, from 6:00am to 11:00am. Residents of the border lying areas also heard a few mortar shell explosions.

Union parishad (UP) member of Shahporir Dwip, Abdus Salam, said, “We have been hearing a lot of gunfire along the border since the morning. We can also see smoke spiraling up on the other side of the border.”

The residents of Saint Martin’s island said they had never heard such heavy firing before. But Saint Martin’s is around 14 kilometres from the border with Myanmar so they are not so fearful of being injured. However, the deafening sound of the gunfire and mortar shells has created alarm.

Meanwhile, there was no sound of firing or mortar shell explosions at the border areas of Naikhangchhari in Bandarban, Ukhia in Cox’s Bazar and Howaikang of Teknaf. Local residents and people’s representatives said that with normalcy returning to the border areas, people have started tending to their rice and vegetable fields again.

Yesterday, Thursday, 330 persons including members of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police, were sent by to Myanmar by ship from the Inani naval jetty at Ukhia.

Earlier, these 330 persons were taken under strict security from various schools in Ukhia, Teknaf to the Inani naval jetty. Members of BGB and RAB were seen on alert in the surrounding areas.

For security reasons the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive highway was kept closed. It was opened later in the afternoon.

Speaking to the media after the 330 persons were sent back, BGB director general Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman said that of the 330 persons, 302 were BGP personnel, 4 were families members of the BGP personnel, 2 were members of army, 18 were immigration personnel and 4 were civilians.

The BGB director general told the journalists that according to a decision taken on 11 February at a meeting held at the foreign ministry, BGB was directed to send by the 330 persons who had taken shelter in Bangladesh. A seven-member repatriation committee was formed headed by BGB’s Ramu sector commander Col. Mehdi Hossain Kabir and also comprising representatives of the foreign ministry, the Cox’s Bazar administration and the police.

The committee speedily contacted the concerned Myanmar authorities and arranged for the repatriation. As part of this process, yesterday, Thursday, a five-member BGP team headed by Col Myo Thura came by a Bangladesh Coast Guard vessel to the Inani jetty. They took the 330 Myanmar nationals handed over to them by BGP and returned to Myanmar.

The BGP director general said that vigilance had been stepped up along the border and BGP was on full alert. The border was now fully under BGP control. No matter what situation may arise, not a single citizen from Myanmar would be allowed to enter Bangladesh.