Foreign minister Hasan Mahmud said on Tuesday that the government was in touch with Myanmar authorities to send back the Myanmar security force members, who fled to Bangladesh again amid fighting with rebel forces in bordering Rakhine State.
He said that some civilians in a fresh move also made efforts to enter Bangladesh, but they were pushed back.
‘A total of 177 members of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police have entered Bangladesh again till Tuesday afternoon. We are working to send them back as before. Some civilians also tried to come, but they were pushed back,’ the foreign minister said, responding to reporters’ queries at his Segunbagicha office.
Asked whether the ambassador of Myanmar would be summoned following the latest incident, Hasan said that his ministry was in constant contact with them. ‘The Myanmar ambassador will be summoned if it is necessary,’ he added.
The Myanmar security forces crossed the border near Naikhyangchari in Bandarban on Monday and sought shelter in Bangladesh amid their ongoing conflict with the ethnic rebel group, the Arakan Army.
Initially, 29 personnel with camouflage and civil dress arrived in the daytime, and after dark, 150 others arrived, officials at the Border Guard Bangladesh and the Bandarban district administration said on Monday.
Earlier, a total of 330 troops and civilians fled fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine State to enter Bangladesh between February 4 and 10, while the Border Guard Bangladesh rejected the entries of 75 Rohingya who wanted shelter around the same time.
A ship from Myanmar took back Myanmar troops and civilian officials on February 15.
After sending them back, BGB director general Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui told the media that no more troops would be allowed to cross the border.source: newage
