[🇧🇩] Insurgencies in Myanmar. Implications for Bangladesh

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Source : https://www.tbsnews.net/features/panorama/tensions-rakhine-chin-have-wider-implications-bangladesh-788586

Tensions in Rakhine, Chin have wider implications for Bangladesh​

Bangladesh cannot initiate a formal discussion with a non-state party like the Arakan Army. Yet, without any engagement of the Arakan Army, no Rohingya can be repatriated peacefully​

A group of old Chin woman with web spider tattoo on face in village near Mrauk U region in Myanmars Rakhine state. Chin people, also known as the Kukis are a number of Tibeto Burman tribal. Photo: Narinjara

The heat of Myanmar's civil war has already reached the Bangladesh border. However, this war - either the one in central Myanmar or those around the states - did not start today.

Understanding the present war in Myanmar requires an understanding of the history of the country's ethnic clashes. Burma (now Myanmar) emerged as an independent country in 1948, a year also marked by budding resistance from many ethnic groups.

The movement prior to Burma's independence was organised around the establishment of a federal country with regional autonomy of ethnic peoples like the Shan, Karen, Kachin, Rakhine, and others. The former prime minister of British Burma, Aung San (father of Aung San Suu Kyi) was supposed to play the role of the coordinator. Unfortunately, Aung San was assassinated six months before Burma's independence.

As a result, the promise of a federal country was buried by the post-independent rulers led by the superior Bamar ethnic group, sparking armed resistance by the minorities. For the last 75 years, the demand for regional autonomy and resistance to Burmese authorities has flourished in the country, both in non-violent or violent formats.

However, a new element was added to this movement in 2021, when many Bamar people took to the streets protesting the Bamar-dominated Burmese military or the Tatmadaw-led coup that ousted the elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi — also a Bamar. The Suu Kyi-led political party National League carried on with non-violent protests for a year after the coup.

But now the party is leading the armed resistance against the Tatmadaw. This is a new phase in Myanmar's history and also indicates that the whole country is now in a civil war.

As a neighbour of Myanmar, Bangladesh has been facing implications of the war, specifically the ethnic resistance in the Rakhine state, which shares a border with Bangladesh.

We know that the Rakhine state — formerly Arakan — was an independent land, but the British Empire colonised it and later left it under the rule of the superior Bamar. Similar to other regions, the demand for an autonomous Arakan state has also persisted since Myanmar's independence. The United League of Arakan and its armed force, the Arakan Army, tried to push the demand both in non-violent and violent ways.

However, the Arakan Army mustered more strength and sharpened its counterattack against the Burmese military in 2017. The Arakan Army is now trying to shift its headquarters to the Rakhine state so that finance for the guerrilla movement can be generated easily.

Similarly, in the last three years, strong armed resistance by the Chin ethnic group has weakened the presence of the Burmese military in the Chin state, which also shares a small border with Bangladesh.

Simultaneously, the security conditions in the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh have deteriorated. At least 90 Rohingyas in the camps were murdered in internal clashes that occurred last year. Their demand for quick repatriation has become louder, amid dwindling global relief for the Rohingya.

So the flourishing of armed resistance in the Rakhine and Chin states, as well as the tension in the Rohingya camps, is very much concerning for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has been negotiating with Myanmar's central government for the repatriation of one million Rohingya people who fled the Burmese military-led crackdown in 2017. Now, the Arakan Army has emerged as another party to discuss with. Apart from Rohingya repatriation, Bangladesh would need to talk to the Arakan Army regarding the century-old border trade with Myanmar.

I would like to mention that Chin people in Myanmar, Mizos and Kukis in India's Mizoram and Manipur, belong to a common larger Zo ethnicity. There are similar ethnic people in Bangladesh's Bandarban district. So, the tension in Manipur, Chin and Rakhine needs to be discussed with great importance.

The Burmese military, cornered on the ground in the last three months due to strong resistance by the ethnic groups, will certainly intensify airstrikes over the conflict zones. Already, the Chin state has been affected and many people have taken refuge in Mizoram. The possibility of a new influx from Myanmar to Bangladesh is high.

During an interview, Arakan Army commander-in-chief Major General Twan Mrat Naing told us that the Arakan Army is willing to accept the Rohingya diaspora as citizens of Myanmar. But the Buddhist-dominated Arakan Army does not acknowledge the legitimacy of Rohingya ethnicity, which will be a concern in the repatriation process. However, Major General Naing showed interest in discussing the issues with the Bangladesh government.

It needs to be noted that Bangladesh cannot initiate a formal discussion with a non-state party like the Arakan Army. It will certainly annoy Myanmar. The great dilemma for Bangladesh is that without any engagement of the Arakan Army, no Rohingya can be repatriated peacefully.

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The author is a researcher of history and author of 'Burma: Jatigoto Shonghater Shaat Doshok.'

 

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Severely battered by Arakan Army, the officers of Tatmadaw fled to Bangladesh to save their lives.

 

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The DG of Border Guard Bangladesh has visited the injured members of Border Guard Police of Myanmar in the hospital.

 

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Exclusive video on Myanmar's Border Guard Police in BGB camp.

 

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Myanmar's superheroes are busy finding ways to enter Bangladesh through river routes.

 

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For the first time, Myanmar forces flee into Bangladesh during fighting with an ethnic armed group

A Bangladesh official says more than 100 members of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police have fled their posts and taken shelter in Bangladesh during fighting between Myanmar security forces and an ethnic minority army.

apnews.com

For the first time, Myanmar forces flee into Bangladesh during fighting with an ethnic armed group​

BY JULHAS ALAM
Updated 12:56 AM GMT+6, February 6, 2024

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — More than 100 members of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police have fled their posts and taken shelter in Bangladesh to escape fighting between Myanmar security forces and an ethnic minority army, an official with Bangladesh’s border agency said Monday.

It is the first time that Myanmar forces have been known to flee into Bangladesh since an alliance of ethnic minority armies in Myanmar launched an offensive against the military government late last year.

Shariful Islam, spokesperson for Border Guard Bangladesh, said the Myanmar forces entered over the past two days during fighting with the Arakan Army in Myanmar’s Rakhine state bordering Bangladesh.

The 103 troops entered through the Tombru border in Bandarban district, he said.

“They have been disarmed and taken to safe places,” he said.

Myanmar’s military government had no immediate comment.

Also on Monday, Bangladeshi media said two persons — a Bangladeshi woman and a Rohingya refugee— were killed in shelling from Myanmar after a house in Bandarban was hit.

Bangladesh’s law minister, Anisul Huq, told Parliament that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had instructed the military and paramilitary border guards to have patience in dealing with the tensions across the border.

“Bangladesh is observing the situation closely and steps will be taken,” the United News of Bangladesh agency quoted him as saying.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud said Monday that Myanmar’s ambassador to Bangladesh, U. Aung Kyaw Moe, and Deputy Foreign Minister, U. Lwin Oo, told Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that they would take back their troops sheltered in Bangladesh.

The ministry also sent a “note verbale” to the Myanmar envoy in Dhaka, protesting bullets and mortar shells from Myanmar landing in Bangladesh.

The Arakan Army is the military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority that seeks autonomy from Myanmar’s central government. It has been attacking army outposts in the western state since November.

It is part of an alliance of ethnic minority armies that launched an offensive in October and gained strategic territory in Myanmar’s northeast bordering China. Its success was seen as a major defeat for the military government, which seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and is now embroiled in a wide-ranging civil war.

 

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Doomed to engage? Bangladesh and the AA

The Arakan Army’s recent victories have its neighbours’ full attention, but a number of factors continue to prevent formal engagement – even as Bangladesh struggles to make headway on Rohingya repatriation efforts with the junta.

www.frontiermyanmar.net

Doomed to engage? Bangladesh and the AA
JANUARY 31, 2024


The Arakan Army’s recent victories have its neighbours’ full attention, but a number of factors continue to prevent formal engagement – even as Bangladesh struggles to make headway on Rohingya repatriation efforts with the junta.
By FRONTIER

On January 14, the Arakan Army raised the Rakhine national flag over key administrative offices in southern Chin State’s Paletwa, declaring the entire township “junta-free”. In the process, the group took control of a nearly 80 kilometre long border with Bangladesh and a key node on a proposed trade route with India.

The dramatic victory came two months after the AA launched a series of attacks against security forces in Rakhine and Chin states, ending an informal ceasefire brokered a year earlier. These territorial gains bring the AA closer to its long-term objective of controlling Rakhine. But they may also prove pivotal in strengthening the group’s relationships with its neighbours – India and Bangladesh – which have long kept the AA at an arm’s length, but a close eye on its movements.

While kept under wraps, there has already been low-level, informal engagement between Bangladesh and the AA for years, a source familiar with Bangladesh’s foreign policy on Myanmar confirmed to Frontier. However, most of the communication has taken place between “field level security forces” along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, and the Bangladesh foreign ministry has “very little idea about it”.

A high-level official in the AA, who spoke to Frontier on the condition of anonymity, also confirmed the dialogue, noting that the “Bangladesh authorities are more concerned than in previous [years]” as fighting “continues near the border areas”.

He said the gains since November are “the most significant” advancements the AA has made against the military. “Now we are holding more land area than in previous years,” he added.

Bangladesh has so far refused to engage formally with a non-state actor while prioritising its relationship with the Myanmar junta, which seized power in a 2021 coup. However, sources familiar with the dynamic told Frontier that Dhaka increasingly sees the AA as a key stakeholder, especially on the thorny issue of repatriating the nearly one million Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh.

“If there is an autonomous region or any kind of recognition from the Myanmar army that the Arakan Army will report on border issues, that can open a negotiation for a state party to enter with a non-state actor,” said the source from Bangladesh.

“Myanmar has a record of recognising autonomous regions and special zones. They have also engaged militia groups and armed groups in border and security related issues in earlier days. As they have a record of such incidents, a similar thing could be done in Rakhine State,” they said.

The AA has long been open about its desire to emulate the level of autonomy achieved by the United Wa State Army, which controls large swathes of territory in Shan State, some of which is formally recognised by the regime. The source said that if this were to happen then Dhaka may be more willing to engage. Another opening would be if the AA had a similar arrangement to the Border Guard Forces, paramilitary groups loosely under the military’s chain of command.

A BGF arrangement is exceedingly unlikely, but with the military overstretched by fighting across the country, it could conceivably be forced to recognise AA territory, like the Wa, in exchange for a ceasefire.

“Until [the AA] is recognised by Myanmar, [Bangladesh] will not be in a position to open any formal channels,” the source said.

The powers that be

For its part, the AA recognises the need to cooperate with Bangladesh, but remains more dependent on its relationship with another foreign power – China.

An international analyst focused on Rakhine, who spoke with Frontier on the condition of anonymity, explained that China is the AA’s “most important stakeholder” and “has more influence over the AA” than any other player.

Beijing also values its relationship with the AA, which has pledged to protect Chinese infrastructure projects, like the two oil and gas pipelines that run from Kyaukphyu Township to Kunming. A Chinese-backed deep sea port and Special Economic Zone are also being planned in the same township.

Showing its ability to influence the situation in Myanmar, China stepped in to broker a ceasefire with AA allies the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and Ta’ang National Liberation Army in northern Shan State in mid-January, partly to stabilise the border and safeguard Chinese interests.

The other big power in the equation is India, which has also refused to publicly engage the AA. Frontier understands informal engagement is ongoing, although India’s Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment on the matter. However, the recent seizure of Paletwa could further force New Delhi’s hand.

The township is a key part of India’s multi-million dollar Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Project – an ambitious endeavour to connect the port of Kolkata port with India’s landlocked northeast, using a combination of sea, river and land routes via Sittwe and Paletwa. While the project has been in development for more than a decade, it has yet to be completed, and has seemingly been overtaken by recent events.

Mr Angshuman Choudhury, an associate fellow at India’s Centre for Policy Research, said the project no longer makes practical sense, but remains politically relevant.

“Bangladesh has allowed us to use [its ports] so why do we need to take the longer circular route to get to Sittwe through Paletwa? The logic behind why the project was created no longer holds,” said Choudhury, who added the main reason to continue pursuing it would be to maintain a “competitive edge” with China’s development projects.

But the recent fighting has shown New Delhi that, to keep this edge, it may have to increase engagement with stakeholders beyond the junta. India has been frequently criticised for normalising relations with the military regime in an attempt to counter China. But as the regime loses more territory to ethnic armed groups that enjoy a close relationship with Beijing, India may also need to adjust to a new reality.

“In light of the recent offensives, Delhi is realising that it has to deal with the Arakan Army in some form. If it wants to resume the Kaladan project, there’s absolutely no way Delhi can go around the Arakan Army,” Choudhury said.

Rohingya refugees walk towards the Balukhali refugee camp in Bangladesh in November 2017, after fleeing from Myanmar. (AFP)

The repatriation conundrum

The repatriation of Rohingya refugees also presents an opportunity for the AA, but one that comes with potential pitfalls. Nearly 700,000 members of the persecuted Muslim minority group were forced across the border in 2017, during a campaign of murder, rape and arson by the Myanmar military, at times supported by mobs of Rakhine nationalists. Most of the displaced come from Rakhine’s Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships, which also share a border with Bangladesh, but one that remains contested between the AA and military.

China has attempted to broker a repatriation agreement, but the ambassador to Bangladesh, Mr Yao Wen, acknowledged in early January that efforts have “faced some difficulties”. “Under Chinese mediation we wish to have a ceasefire in the Rakhine State” as a precondition for the repatriation, he added.

Mr Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh’s Commissioner for Refugee Relief and Repatriation, told Frontier that repatriating “the whole [Rohingya] population” is “the number one priority of Bangladesh”.

“We are struggling to address the demands of these one million people, and the number is only increasing,” he said.

Rohingya refugees refuse to return to Myanmar until they are allowed to go back to their original homes and their right to citizenship is recognised. Instead, the junta has erected enclosed villages where returnees would be closely monitored and their movements tightly restricted.

“The so-called model villages are not villages, they are detention camps. In the future, they will be like concentration camps. [Rohingya] will not be allowed to leave the area, there are fences and watchtowers,” said Ro Nay San Lwin, the founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition. “Nobody wants to move from the Bangladesh camp to the Myanmar camp.”

Rahman said these concerns were raised directly by Rohingya communities to a Myanmar military delegation that visited the refugee camps last year, but there was “no satisfactory reply received”.

“It was good that there were talks between the two groups but there was no successful completion of the negotiations,” he said. “I have found that there is a lack of preparation and a lack of willingness [from Myanmar] so far.”

The regime’s unwillingness or inability to secure repatriation creates an opening for the AA, which has sought to portray itself as more inclusive towards the Rohingya than the central authorities or previous Rakhine nationalist movements. But many Rohingya on the ground remain sceptical and complain about being trapped in the crossfire between the military and the AA.

The AA’s purported inclusiveness has done little to attract more engagement from Dhaka, which is more concerned with who wields power.

“Dhaka has traditionally seen the Myanmar military as the most institutionalised and strongest actor in the country and also understands that the Myanmar military is a permanent actor in the country, no matter the political system,” said U Kyaw Lynn, an independent analyst focused on Rakhine. “They don’t want to jeopardise their relation with the Myanmar military, they want to appease the military leadership.”

The source familiar with Bangladesh’s foreign policy on Myanmar said since 2017, Myanmar authorities have accused Dhaka of supporting armed groups, including the AA and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army.

“Myanmar always tries to blame Bangladesh for assisting insurgent groups, which is a baseless allegation. But if [Bangladesh] raises any concern over the recent incidents and developments in Myanmar, that will give the space to our counterpart to raise questions again. That is why Bangladesh has refrained from taking any measure,” they said. “Our priority is to maintain friendly relations with our neighbouring countries.”

Because of this, Bangladesh has decided to wait on the military to make the first move when it comes to bringing the AA into the fold.

“They are definitely one of the most important stakeholders, but it is not our duty to engage them – it is the Myanmar authorities’ duty to engage them in this repatriation process,” said Rahman.

But Bangladesh might be waiting for a while. The international analyst said the junta, formally known as the State Administration Council, will be reluctant to hand over responsibility.

“I don’t think the SAC would be willing to give up that role because it would imply that they’ve lost control of the border or are no longer willing to enforce border control. They would be saying that the AA controls who comes and goes, which would be difficult for them to stomach,” he said.

“The AA also hasn’t really delved into the repatriation issue, the conditions aren’t there and it isn’t a priority for the AA. It’s also a poisoned chalice. They want to let the SAC deal with it – they’re going to look bad on the international stage and it will strain their relationship with Bangladesh, so letting the SAC deal with it is strategic from the AA side,” he added.

Between a rock and a hard place

Taking ownership of the repatriation process could put the AA between a rock and a hard place in terms of international and domestic expectations, as many Rakhine Buddhists are still deeply hostile towards the persecuted Muslim minority.

For now, fighting continues to rage in Rakhine, which the AA has used as justification to put off the issue. Rohingya activist Nay San Lwin said the AA has not yet sat down with Rohingya representatives, even though it’s vying for control over the population.

“They haven’t offered to have any dialogue yet. If they are ready to sit with us, we are always ready,” he said. “In the media they are saying that they respect the human rights [of Rohingya] but the reality is we have to wait and see.”

When asked whether repatriation was a priority for the AA, the high-level AA official referenced the fighting and alluded to a long-held Rakhine nationalist grievance, that posits the Rohingya are actually more privileged than the Rakhine, despite facing decades of state-sanctioned persecution that Amnesty International has labelled an apartheid.

“The Arakanese people are also running away from their towns, away from the military bombardment… Whenever there are problems in border areas, the Muslims have the ability to run away to Bangladesh but the Rakhine have nowhere to run out. So it is more serious and you see more problems for the Rakhine people at this time,” said the official. (Many Rakhine use the term “Muslim” to refer to Rohingya because they refuse to recognise it as an ethnic group.)

But despite the official’s claims, much of the fighting is occurring in Rohingya villages, and the community was disproportionately affected by Cyclone Mocha last year.

While the foreign analyst said that it’s difficult to predict what role the AA will have in repatriating Rohingya, “it’s inevitable at some point in the future that the AA will administer control over large parts of central and northern Rakhine” and with this will come a level of responsibility – one that could potentially jolt Bangladesh out of its complacency.

“The AA taking more positions and more territory from the SAC has been the trajectory. It’s safe to say whatever happens over the next few months, the AA will definitely have spread its position vis-a-vis the SAC in northern Rakhine – the SAC will come out weaker and the AA will come out stronger.”

 

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Myanmar security personnel among 229 to flee into Bangladesh amid conflict

The influx into Bangladesh continued for a third day amid heavy fighting between Myanmar military forces and rebels

bdnews24.com

Myanmar security personnel among 229 to flee into Bangladesh amid conflict
The influx into Bangladesh continued for a third day amid heavy fighting between Myanmar military forces and rebels

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 6 Feb 2024, 12:27 PM
Updated : 6 Feb 2024, 12:27 PM

More than 200 people from Myanmar, including border guards and military personnel, have crossed into Bangladesh to escape the ongoing conflict between junta forces and armed insurgents.

As of Tuesday morning, 229 people have taken refuge in Bangladesh as the exodus from across the border continued into the third day.

"They include members of the Myanmar military and the Border Guard Police, as well as ordinary people. Efforts are underway to determine the number of people from each group," said Shariful Islam, a spokesman for Border Guard Bangladesh.

The Myanmar military and rebel group Arakan Army have been involved in intense fighting in Rakhine state, across the border from the Tumbru area in Bandarban’s Naikhongchhari for the past few days.

On Saturday night, the rebels seized a Border Guard Police (BGP) outpost and 14 members of the Myanmar border security force fled to Bangladesh. Since then, more and more people have crossed the border.

Bangladesh’s BGB is disarming them and taking them into their custody. At least 15 people with bullet wounds are also being given medical care. Four BGP personnel were transferred to Chattogram Medical College Hospital on Monday night for advanced treatment.

It is not clear whether other members of the Myanmar armed forces have entered Bangladesh in search of shelter.

Amid the conflict, several members of the Chakma and Tanchangya ethnic groups from Rakhine have gathered at the zero line of the border, according to relatives in Bangladesh. They also say that they are receiving videos of more people gathering at the zero line.

Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, commissioner of the refugee relief and repatriation office, told bdnews24.com on Monday, “For the past few days, there have been battles in Rakhine state across the border. We have heard from various sources that a humanitarian disaster is developing. If the situation worsens, we fear intrusions at various points.”

“The trouble is, we are already struggling to cope with the 1.2 million Rohingya [refugees] we have been looking after for the past six to seven years. If more people start entering from Rakhine, it will create a dire situation for us.”

But Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud told the media on Monday that the border is protected and the government has discussed sending the fleeing members of Myanmar’s security forces back to the country.

“Now we are in discussions about what the process of their return will be. We are still discussing whether they will be taken back by air or through the port. We will find a way.”

The effects of the conflict across the border are being felt by residents on the Bangladeshi side as well. Many have fled their homes and sought shelter with friends and family living further away.

A Bangladeshi woman living in Naikhongchhari’s Ghumdhum area and an elderly Rohingya man were killed by a mortar shell fired from Myanmar on Monday afternoon.

Another mortar shell fired from Myanmar landed on the porch of a family’s home in Ghumdhum on Tuesday morning, but there were no casualties.

Locals say they can still hear sounds of gunfire and shelling. The Myanmar military is firing from helicopters and the rebels are returning fire, they said.

WHAT LED TO THE CONFLICT?

In 2021, the Myanmar military overthrew the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup. In late October 2023, three ethnic rebel groups in Myanmar joined forces to launch a coordinated offensive against the junta forces.

These groups are the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Arakan Army (AA), and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).

These groups have engaged in armed conflict with the Myanmar military in the states of Shan, Rakhine, Chin and Kayah. The rebels have successfully taken over several important areas and army posts.

The Arakan Army, an armed force of a minority ethnic group in the western state of Rakhine, is fighting for greater autonomy for Rakhine.

The conflict between the army and insurgents is spilling over and affecting communities across the border. Sunday saw the largest influx from Myanmar since the war began.

Between late August and early September 2022, there were incidents of shelling from Myanmar warplanes that crossed the border into Bangladesh. Helicopters also entered Bangladesh territory.

Many people from border areas fled in panic, seeking refuge in safer locations.

Dhaka then summoned the country’s ambassador to register its protest and express condemnation and concern over these incidents.

 

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Border guards who fled Myanmar tell of losing contact with commanders

Over 300 who crossed into Bangladesh have asked for assistance in returning to their homes.

www.rfa.org

Border guards who fled Myanmar tell of losing contact with commanders​

Over 300 who crossed into Bangladesh have asked for assistance in returning to their homes.

Sharif Khiam and Abdur Rahman
Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

Bangladeshis deliver an injured Rohingya who tried to cross the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh to members of the Border Guard Bangladesh in Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Feb. 6, 2024.

Myanmar border guards and soldiers fled into Bangladesh earlier this week after losing contact with their commanders during fierce fighting in Rakhine state, an interpreter present during their conversation with Bangladesh officials told BenarNews on Friday.

Many of these Burmese members of the junta-affiliated border police and army who have been sheltering with the Border Guard Bangladesh said they wished to return to their homes, according to an interpreter who spoke to BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated news outlet, near the BGB outpost in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar.

As many as 330 members of the Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) and soldiers crossed the border after abandoning their posts in Rakhine, next door in Myanmar, amid fierce fighting with Arakan Army rebels, who have been making advances in gaining control of territory in battles with junta forces.

The BGP members told the interpreter, Mohammad Saiful Islam, that they were attacked around 4 a.m. on Feb. 4. They fought back before fleeing on Feb. 6.

“They said the Arakan Army encircled from three sides and launched attacks on them. Before the attack, the Arakan Army severed all means of communication with their senior officials,” Saiful Alam told BenarNews. “But they continued their resistance for two days. Ten of their members died while the Arakan Army lost at least 20 of their members.

“They had no way to contact their commanding officers to get instructions.”

As the fighting crept closer to the border this week, at least three civilians on the Bangladesh side were reported killed by artillery and gunfire from the fighting.

Saiful Islam said he talked to 17 army officers linked to Myanmar’s border guard along with 147 BGP members who fled from the Rakhine state. They told him they crossed into Bangladesh to survive.

“‘If we proceeded in other directions, they would apprehend and kill us,’” he quoted an unnamed soldier as saying.

Saiful Islam said BGB leaders gave him questions to ask the Myanmar forces, adding most were reluctant to provide any details. They were more interested in asking about how they would be returned to Myanmar.

“The common answer I get from them is ‘we came under attack and we fled,’” he said.

Border Guard Bangladesh members gather in the Ukhia sub-district where they are unable to rescue victims because of ongoing shelling across the border in Myanmar, Feb. 9, 2024. [Minhaj Uddin/BenarNews]

Earlier this week, officials reported that 330 Myanmar troops crossed into Bangladesh and surrendered their weapons to the BGB.

Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, BGB’s new chief, said Bangladesh had followed international norms by allowing the Myanmar border guards and soldiers to cross into Bangladesh on humanitarian grounds.

Bangladesh ambassador to Myanmar Md. Monowar Hossain said he spoke to a Myanmar deputy foreign minister who expressed his government’s desire for the BGP to be returned. Bangladesh agreed to repatriate them by sea.

Fight for control

Myanmar’s security forces and the rebel Arakan Army (AA), founded in 2009, have been fighting for control of Rakhine state, which borders Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban districts.

In recent months, the AA has intensified attacks on the Myanmar military and the BGP.

On Friday, the AA claimed it captured the final major junta territory in Mrauk U, effectively taking control of the town in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state, according to Radio Free Asia, a news service affiliated with BenarNews.

Previously, the AA captured two key military units in western Rakhine state, seizing control of Minbya. This came after AA rebels captured a BGP camp in Maungdaw township last weekend.

As fighting intensified between the junta forces and the Arakan Army, the civilian population of Rakhine state – including Buddhist Chakma and minority Rohingya Muslims – has been displaced. Hundreds of people have been trying to cross into Bangladesh, but the BGB was put on alert to stop any influx of Myanmar residents.

In Dhaka, Obaidul Quader, a senior minister and spokesman for and general secretary of the ruling Awami League party, said the government would not allow people from Myanmar to take shelter in Bangladesh.

Lt. Col. Mohiuddin Ahmed, BGB Teknaf battalion commander, said many people were trying to enter Bangladesh at different spots along the border.

“As of today, we have apprehended 137 people who attempted to enter,” he told BenarNews on Friday.

Two days earlier, Quader told journalists that Rohingya would not be allowed to cross over from Rakhine.

“The Rohingya people have become a big burden for Bangladesh … the international assistance has fallen. How long can we support them,” he asked.

About 1 million Rohingya live in refugee camps in and around Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar – most have fled Myanmar since a military crackdown against their stateless minority group in August 2017.

On Friday, residents of Tombru, Gundam, Teknaf and Ukhia in Bangladesh told BenarNews correspondents that the intensity of fighting near the border has been reduced.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news outlet.

 

[Saif]

340 Myanmar troops flee into Bangladesh during fighting with armed ethnic group

Bangladesh's foreign minister says 340 members of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police and soldiers have fled into Bangladesh during fighting with an ethnic minority army

abcnews.go.com

340 Myanmar troops flee into Bangladesh during fighting with armed ethnic group
Bangladesh's foreign minister says 340 members of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police and soldiers have fled into Bangladesh during fighting with an ethnic minority army

By The Associated Press
February 8, 2024, 9:02 PM

NEW DELHI -- About 340 members of Myanmar's Border Guard Police and soldiers have fled into Bangladesh during fighting with an ethnic minority army, Bangladesh's foreign minister said Thursday.

Hasan Mahmud said 340 security personnel had entered Bangladesh by Wednesday. He said Bangladesh is having discussions with Myanmar's government about the issue and that it is willing to take them back.

Mahmud made the comments while on a visit to India, his first since becoming foreign minister last month.

Earlier this week, Bangladesh's border agency said some Myanmar troops had entered in recent days during fighting with the Arakan Army in Myanmar's Rakhine state bordering Bangladesh. It was the first time that Myanmar forces have been known to flee into Bangladesh since an alliance of ethnic minority armies in Myanmar launched an offensive against the military government late last year.

Officials said the troops that entered had been disarmed and taken to safe places.

Mahmud said he had also raised the issue with India, which shares a 1,643-kilometer (1,020-mile) border with Myanmar and is home to thousands of refugees from Myanmar in different states. Indian officials in November estimated that thousands had entered northeastern states in India to flee heavy fighting in Myanmar's western Chin state.

Separately on Thursday, India's Home Ministry announced that it would end visa-free movement between India and Myanmar “to ensure the internal security of the country.” The Free Movement Regime, as it is known, is an agreement between the two countries that allows people living along the border to travel up to 16 kilometers (10 miles) inside the other country without a visa.

The Arakan Army is the military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority that seeks autonomy from Myanmar’s central government. It has been attacking army outposts in the western state since November.

It is part of an alliance of ethnic minority armies called the Three Brotherhood Alliance that launched an offensive in October and gained strategic territory in Myanmar’s northeast bordering China. Its success was seen as a major defeat for the military government, which seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and is now embroiled in a wide-ranging civil war.

Bangladesh shares a 271-kilometer (168-mile) border with Buddhist-dominated Myanmar and hosts more than 1 million Muslim Rohingya refugees, many of whom fled from Myanmar starting in August 2017 when its military launched a brutal “clearance operation” against them following attacks by an insurgent group.

 

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Myanmar violence spills over into Bangladesh.

 

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Bangladesh needs to make sure that the security officials of Tatmadaw are not here for espionage.