BGB sends back 6 Rohingya boats to Myanmar
Cox’s Bazar: Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) pushed back six boats carrying Rohingyas, who fled the country to escape a crackdown in Rakhine state by Myanmar army, from different border points of Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar till early on Tuesday starting on Monday evening.
BGB Teknaf 2 Battalion commanding officer (CO) Lieutenant Colonel Abu Jar Al Jahid said six Rohingya boats were sent back from four border points of River Naf in Teknaf until 6:00am on Tuesday.
Each of the boats was carrying around 15 Rohingya Muslims, said the CO.
However, BGB also pushed back around 37 Rohingya to home from different border points including the Ukhia and Naikhyanchhari’s Ghumdhum borders in Cox’s Bazar till early on Tuesday starting on Monday morning.
The Bangladeshi border force detained three Bangladeshi syndicate members who were assisting the Rohingyas in illegal trespassing.
Meanwhile, local people informed that around 30 families intruded in Bangladesh from Monday night to early Tuesday and took shelter in a unregistered Rohingya camp, reports UNB.
Cox’s Bazar BGB 34 Battalion Commanding Officer (CO) Lieutenant Colonel Imran Ullah Sarker said the Rohingya Muslims are trying to intrude into Bangladesh via River Bankkhali in Naikhyanchhari, several high mounds of Ukhiya and Ghumdhum areas.
In the past two weeks, Bangladeshi border guards have prevented more than 1,000 Rohingya, including many women and children, from entering the country by boat, officials told AFP.
At least 30,000 have been internally displaced in Rakhine and many have tried to reach Bangladesh over the last month despite heightened border patrols, and sought refuge amongst the Rohingya refugee population that already live on the Bangladesh side.
Violence in Rakhine — home to the stateless ethnic group loathed by many of Myanmar’s Buddhist majority — has surged in the last month after security forces poured into the area following a series of attacks on police posts blamed on local militants.
A UN official said last week Myanmar is engaged in ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Rohingya Muslims, as reports emerged of troops shooting at villagers as they tried to flee.
However, Myanmar’s new civilian government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, has rejected the allegations.