Amid the ongoing conflicts along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, 63 more Myanmar forces and border guards have taken shelter in Bangladesh till Wednesday noon, taking the total number to 327, said BGB sources. A total of 327 Myanmar forces including BGP, army personnel and immigration officials have taken shelter in Bangladesh, said Shariful Islam, public relations officer (PRO) of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). The 63 Myanmar forces have entered Bangladesh today with arms through Whaikhong in Teknaf border. The BGB disarmed them and took them to a safe shelter, the PRO said. Read: What the BGB DG said during visit to Bangladesh-Myanmar border today In a statement during his visit to the Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Cox’s Bazar today (February 7, 2024), Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, newly appointed Director General of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), declared the force’s high alert status to address any potential border-related incidents. During the visit, Major General Siddiqui underscores the BGB’s commitment to maintaining security and sovereignty while adhering to humanitarian principles and fostering positive international relations. “The border situation is fully under control, and we are dedicated to managing it with patience, humanitarian considerations, and in a manner that respects our international obligations, as directed by the Prime Minister. Under no circumstances will illegal entry into Bangladesh be permitted,” Major General Siddiqui emphasized. His remarks came during a thorough inspection of the border outposts at Tambru and Ghumdum areas within the Naikhongchhari upazila. This tour included assessments of the operational conditions and morale among BGB personnel stationed along this critical frontier. Read: No more Rohingyas to be allowed in: New BGB Chief A Bangladeshi woman and a Rohingya man were killed following an explosion of a mortar shell at a house in Jolpaitoli under Ghumdum union of Naikhongchhari upazila in Bandarban district on Monday. Besides, academic activities of five government primary schools in Naikhangchhari upazila have been suspended.

In a statement during his visit to the Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Cox’s Bazar today (February 07, 2024), Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, newly appointed Director General of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), declared the force’s high alert status to address any potential border-related incidents. During the visit, Major General Siddiqui underscores the BGB’s commitment to maintaining security and sovereignty while adhering to humanitarian principles and fostering positive international relations. “The border situation is fully under control, and we are dedicated to managing it with patience, humanitarian considerations, and in a manner that respects our international obligations, as directed by the Prime Minister. Under no circumstances will illegal entry into Bangladesh be permitted,” Major General Siddiqui emphasized. His remarks came during a thorough inspection of the border outposts at Tambru and Ghumdum areas within the Naikhongchhari upazila. This tour included assessments of the operational conditions and morale among BGB personnel stationed along this critical frontier. No more Rohingyas to be allowed in: New BGB Chief Major General Siddiqui’s directive to the border guards highlighted the importance of professionalism and vigilance in safeguarding the border against any arising challenges. Furthermore, the BGB Director General took a moment to inquire about the welfare of Myanmar security forces and army personnel who have sought refuge in Bangladesh during the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar. To date, Bangladesh has provided asylum to 264 members of the Myanmar forces, including Border Guard Police (BGP), army personnel, and immigration officials, amidst ongoing clashes with the Arakan Army. The BGB has responsibly disarmed the asylum-seeking Myanmar forces, ensuring their safety and security within Bangladesh’s borders. This series of actions by the BGB and its leadership reflects Bangladesh’s balanced approach to border security, combining strict enforcement with a compassionate response to regional instability and humanitarian needs. Police working with BGB to ensure security at Bangladesh-Myanmar border: IGP

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday (February 06, 2024) summoned Myanmar Ambassador to Bangladesh, Aung Kyaw Moe, and strongly protested the incidents along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. Director General (Myanmar wing) at the Foreign Ministry, Miah Md. Mainul Kabir, handed over the protest note to Myanmar Ambassador during a meeting at the state guest House Padma. Two people, including a woman, were killed in reported shelling on a house at Jolpaitoli under Ghumdum union of Naikhongchhari upazila in Bandarban district on Monday. Read: What Foreign Minister said on Myanmar’s BGP men taking shelter in Bangladesh One of the deceased was identified as Hosne Ara, 50, wife of Badsha Mia while the identity of the other could not be known immediately. Myanmar has reached out to Bangladesh to take back members of Border Guard Police (BGP) who entered Bangladesh territory to save themselves amid conflicts there with the Arakan Army. Read more: BGB, BGP regional commander-level conference begins in Cox’s Bazar "We are in constant communication. They want to take back their BGP members. The Myanmar government is communicating with Bangladesh as they (BGP members) want to go back. There is communication from both ends," Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.

Seven more members of Myanmar's Border Guard Police (BGP) have fled to Bangladesh amid clashes between the Myanmar military and the armed rebel group, Arakan Army. With them, the number of BGP personnel who took shelter in Bangladesh so far stands at 113. Shariful Islam, public relations officer (PRO) of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), said that 113 BGP members have so far entered Bangladesh through Tumbru border in Naikhangchhari upazila of Bandarban district with arms and ammunition, due to the ongoing clashes inside Myanmar. The BGB disarmed them and took them to a safe shelter, he said. The BGB PRO said members of the BGP started taking shelter in Bangladesh since Sunday (February 04, 2024) morning. Read more: 2 killed in 'shelling' in Bandarban's Ghumdhum The Arakan Army is the well-trained and well-armed military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority movement, which seeks autonomy from Myanmar’s central government. It is a member of the armed ethnic group alliance that recently gained strategic territory in Myanmar’s northeast. Along with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army — operating together under the name of the Three Brotherhood Alliance — it launched a coordinated offensive on October 27, 2023 in northern Shan state along the border with China. That offensive has posed the greatest battlefield challenge to Myanmar’s military rulers since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. The alliance says it has seized more than 250 military outposts, five official border crossings and a major city near the Chinese border, along with several important towns, according to an AP report. Rakhine is where a brutal army counterinsurgency operation in 2017 drove about 740,000 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority to seek safety across the border in Bangladesh. Rakhine is also known by its older name of Arakan. Read more: What Foreign Minister said on Myanmar’s BGP men taking shelter in Bangladesh

Two people, including a woman, were killed in reported shelling on a house at Jolpaitoli under Ghumdum union of Naikhongchhari upazila in Bandarban district on Monday (February 05, 2024). One of the deceased was identified as Hosne Ara, 50, wife of Badsha Mia while the identity of the other could not be known immediately. Myanmar violence spillovers: 7 Educational Institutions shut in Bandarban Shafiqul Islam, Jolpaitoli Ward 1 member, said the explosion occurred around 2:30 pm inside Bangladesh and two people were found dead after the explosion. ASP (Lama circle, Bandarban district) Md Nurul Anwar said he heard about the deaths of two people but they are yet to identify them. 37 more Nasaka personnel take shelter in Bangladesh; total number now 95

Thirty-seven more members of Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) aka Nasaka have taken shelter in Bangladesh border amid a conflict between the Myanmar military and the armed rebel group, the Arakan Army, in Myanmar's Rakhine state. With this, the total number of Nasaka members who took shelter in Bangladesh stood at 95 till this morning (February 5, 2024), said Shariful Islam, public relations officer at Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Headquarters. The BGB disarmed the Nasaka members and took them to a safe shelter, he said, adding that a process was underway to take action in this connection. Read more: No more stray mortal shells from Myanmar to land in Bangladesh, hopes FM Earlier on Sunday, 58 BGP members took shelter along the border, the BGB officer said. UNB Cox’s Bazar correspondent reported that two Bangladeshis sustained bullet injuries during firing between Myanmar army and armed groups in Tumbru area along Ghumdhum border in Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban on Sunday morning. Locals said there has been a fierce conflict between the country's army and armed groups inside Myanmar over the past few days. High-powered ammunition and explosives have been used and people in the border area of Ghumdhum have become tensed. Read more: Out of options, Rohingya fleeing Myanmar and Bangladesh by boat despite soaring death toll

A Rohingya man was shot dead while two others sustained bullet injuries in a gunfight between two armed groups of Myanmar along Tumbru border in Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban on Wednesday. The deceased was identified as Hamid Ullah, 27, a resident of Balukhali Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar while the injured are Mohib Ullah, 25, and Mohammad Hossain, 12. They are the residents of Jadimuda Camp-26 in Teknaf upazila of the district.  According to police and local sources, the firing started between the groups--Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) and Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO ) on the zero line of Konarpara of Tumbru border of Ghumdhum union of Naikhongchhari upazila in the morning. Multiple incidents of gunfire occurred at a Rohingya camp, set up on the zero line, since 6:00am, leaving the trio injured with bullets. They were rushed to MSF-run hospital in Kutupalong Rohingya camp where physicians declared Hamid dead, Mahfuzul Islam, superintendent of police in Cox’s Bazar, said. Read more: Unexploded mortar shells found near Bangladesh-Myanmar border Besides, the injured have been undergoing treatment at the hospital, he said.  Visiting the spot, the UNB correspondent found that some 30 Rohingyas including children took shelter in Ghumdhum union parishad (UP) leaving the zero line camp following the gunfight. Later, locals took the Rohingyas to a government primary school for safety. Ghumdhum UP Chairman Md Jahangir Aziz said locals were in panic following the gunfight between the two armed groups. Some 4,280 Rohingyas have been residing at the zero line camp since 2017.