Had there been no cantonment, Arakan Army would have taken over Cox’s Bazar: Shaimum

Ruling Awami League lawmaker and whip Shaimum Sarwar Kamal has said if there had been no cantonment in Cox’s Bazar, the Myanmar armed group Arakan Army would have taken over the area.

Shaimum Sarwar, a lawmaker from Cox’s Bazar-3 constituency (Sadar, Ramu and Eidgaon) made the remarks while participating in a general discussion on the proposed budget for the 2024-25 fiscal in parliament on Sunday.

He said, “The Arakan Army of Myanmar has been engaged in an armed conflict. They have taken position just two kilometres away from my constituency. If the prime minister had not built the cantonment, Cox’s Bazar might have become insecure today. They could have already taken over… The prime minister has already given Tk 200 billion for the cantonment and made us secure.”

Arakan Army has been fighting the Myanmar army to topple the junta government in the country and currently controls most parts of Rakhine state.

Demanding repatriation of the Rohingya, Shaimum Sarwar said a regional security council must be formed with Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka; hence the security of Bangladesh, as well as India will increase.