Myanmar deploys troops in townships along border

BGB, Coast Guard on alert over possible fresh influx of Rohingyas

The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the Coast Guard have been put on alert and their patrols increased, following fears of a fresh influx of Rohingyas into the country as Myanmar has deployed troops in several townships along the frontier in the wake of the reports of the killings of seven Buddhists in Arakan.

Reports from Myanmar said around 500 troops were deployed in Mawngdu, Buthidong and other townships along the border, prompting the BGB to deploy extra border guards along the Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban borders with Myanmar. A number of BGB patrols was seen on the border points along the Naf, where the Coast Guards is also running fast patrol boats and wooden boats to detect any intrusion down the river that runs parallel to the Bangladesh-Myanmar frontier. Some 63km of the 262-km-long stretch of the borders of the two countries along the river with the forest-clad Arakan mountain range are reportedly outside the pale of the border guards. The rest of this stretch is mostly forested along the slopes of the hills, down which the Rohingyas have allegedly been infiltrating into Bangladesh. But this is something the BGB does not like to concede.

The guards claimed that the Rohingyas once filtered down the trails along these points, but now their infiltration has been reduced to nil.

The Rohingya Resistance Committee’s leader, Hamidul Huq, told The Independent yesterday that following the fresh deployment of troops in Myanmar, the Rohingyas may sneak into Bangladesh. The Commander of Teknaf 2 border guard battalion, Lt. Col. SM Ariful Islam, told The Independent that additional guards have been deployed along Teknaf and Ukhia at the border to prevent any infiltration of Rohingyas. “Not just these two points, but guard outposts have also been set up elsewhere along the frontier to preclude any infiltration,” the BGB commander added.

 

Myanmar deploys troops in townships along border

BGB, Coast Guard on alert over possible fresh influx of Rohingyas

The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the Coast Guard have been put on alert and their patrols increased, following fears of a fresh influx of Rohingyas into the country as Myanmar has deployed troops in several townships along the frontier in the wake of the reports of the killings of seven Buddhists in Arakan. Reports from Myanmar said around 500 troops were deployed in Mawngdu, Buthidong and other townships along the border, prompting the BGB to deploy extra border guards along the Coxs Bazar and Bandarban borders with Myanmar. A number of BGB patrols was seen on the border points along the Naf, where the Coast Guards is also running fast patrol boats and wooden boats to detect any intrusion down the river that runs parallel to the Bangladesh-Myanmar frontier. Some 63km of the 262-km-long stretch of the borders of the two countries along the river with the forest-clad Arakan mountain range are reportedly outside the pale of the border guards. The rest of this stretch is mostly forested along the slopes of the hills, down which the Rohingyas have allegedly been infiltrating into Bangladesh. But this is something the BGB does not like to concede. The guards claimed that the Rohingyas once filtered down the trails along these points, but now their infiltration has been reduced to nil. The Rohingya Resistance Committees leader, Hamidul Huq, told The Independent yesterday that following the fresh deployment of troops in Myanmar, the Rohingyas may sneak into Bangladesh. The Commander of Teknaf 2 border guard battalion, Lt. Col. SM Ariful Islam, told The Independent that additional guards have been deployed along Teknaf and Ukhia at the border to prevent any infiltration of Rohingyas. Not just these two points, but guard outposts have also been set up elsewhere along the frontier to preclude any infiltration, the BGB commander added.