Cox’s Bazar: Eleven boats packed to the edge with Rohingya Muslims, who were trying to enter into Bangladesh, were pushed back to Myanmar from four border points of River Naf at Teknaf upazila in Cox’s Bazar on Thursday morning.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) sent back the boats until early hours of Thursday starting on Wednesday night.

BGB claimed there were around 12 Rohingyas on each boat.

Teknaf BGB 2 Battalion Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Abu Jar Al Jahid said BGB members were patrolling the border area to restrain the Rohingya trespassers.

However, Cox’s Bazar BGB 34 Battalion Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Imran Ullah Sarker said around 19 Rohingyas were sent back to Myanmar from several areas of Ukhiya in Cox’s Bazar.

Earlier, on 30 December, BGB members sent back around five boats carrying Rohingyas who were trying to enter into Bangladesh through three points of River Naf.

In past 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.