Another 116 from Myanmar including border guards, army personnel enter Bangladesh: BGB
The total number of fleeing members of Myanmar BGP, customs, army and civilians in Bangladesh this week stands at 264
Amid the ongoing conflict in Myanmar, another 116 injured members of Myanmar's Border Guard Police (BGP), army, customs and civilians today fled to Bangladesh through the border in Cox's Bazar's Palongkhali union for refuge after being attacked by rebels, said the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
With this, the total number of fleeing members of Myanmar BGP, customs, army and civilians in Bangladesh this week stands at 264.
"So far, 264 members of Myanmar BGP, army, customs and civilians have entered Bangladesh with arms and ammunition due to the ongoing clashes inside Myanmar," said BGB HQ Public Relations Officer Shariful Islam.
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Of them, 113 entered through the border in Turmbru, Bandarban, 114 entered through the Palongkhali upazila area of Cox's Bazar's Ukhiya, and two entered from the border around Ghumdhum and Teknaf.
"They have been taken to safety after they surrendered their weapons to the BGB," he added.
The injured Myanmar border guard personnel are undergoing treatment in different hospitals in Cox's Bazar district, the BGB official added.
Rebel factions in Arakan state have engaged in clashes with Myanmar's military junta since Saturday (3 February), primarily over the control of a border camp.
Persistent gunfire, mortar shells, and rocket explosions have marked the ongoing conflict.
Bangladeshis living in the border area have reported intense fighting, and there are concerns about the use of army helicopters strafing rebel fighters, heightening worries of substantial casualties.
International media reports suggested several more insurgent groups, some forming alliances among them, are confronting the government army in several parts of Myanmar.
Meanwhile, two people were killed inside the Bangladesh border last afternoon after heavy mortar shells reportedly fired from Myanmar landed and exploded inside the Ghumdum border in Bandarban.
Among the Myanmar border guard personnel who crossed the border into Bangladesh to take refuge, 4 who had bullet injuries, were admitted to Chattogram Medical College Hospital (CMCH) on Monday (5 February) night.
"Four Myanmar BGP men with bullet injuries were taken to the CMCH at around 10:30pm and admitted to the casualty ward of the hospital," Sub-Inspector (SI) Nur Alam Ashek, in charge of the CMCH police outpost, said.
"They are in critical condition," he added, quoting the physicians of the hospital.
Bangladesh's border with Myanmar stretches 271.0 kilometres (168.4 miles), from the tri-point with India in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south.
Meanwhile, the BGB said it is on high alert so that no group including Rohingyas can infiltrate through the Myanmar border during the ongoing conflict between the rebel factions in the Rakhine state with Myanmar's military junta.
"Additional BGB personnel have been deployed in the border areas to closely monitor the situation," BGB Cox's Bazar Region Commander Brigadier General Morshed Alam told reporters at a press briefing in Bandarban on Monday (5 February) evening.
Bangladesh played a critical role in sheltering over a million Muslim minority Rohingyas who fled their home in Rakhine and took refuge in Bangladesh to evade persecution, particularly after a 2017 army crackdown but the current crisis visibly has little to do with the Rohingyas.
