[🇧🇩] Insurgencies in Myanmar. Implications for Bangladesh

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মিà§à¦¾à¦¨à¦®à¦¾à¦°à§à¦° রাà¦à¦¾à¦à¦¨ রাà¦à§à¦¯à§ সà¦à¦à¦¾à¦¤à§à¦° à¦à§à¦°à§ à¦à¦à§à¦¸à¦¬à¦¾à¦à¦¾à¦°à§à¦° à¦à§à¦à¦¨à¦¾à¦« সà§à¦®à¦¾à¦¨à§à¦¤à¦¬à¦°à§à¦¤à§ নাফন à¦à¦ªà¦¾à¦°à§ মà¦à¦¡à§ শহরৠতà§à¦®à§à¦² লà§à¦¾à¦ à¦à¦²à¦à§à¥¤ রাতà¦à¦°...

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

মিয়ানমারে গোলাগুলির শব্দ, টেকনাফে আতঙ্ক
কক্সবাজার প্রতিনিধি
Published :
Jul 08, 2024 18:19
Updated :
Jul 08, 2024 18:19

মিয়ানমারের রাখাইন রাজ্যে সংঘাতের জেরে কক্সবাজারের টেকনাফ সীমান্তবর্তী নাফন ওপারে মংডু শহরে তুমুল লড়াই চলছে। রাতভর বিস্ফোরণের বিকট শব্দ সীমান্তের এপারে ভেসে এসেছে। থেমে থেমে মর্টার শেল ও গোলাগুলির শব্দে ঘুম নেই টেকনাফের বাসিন্দাদের। স্থানীয়দের মধ্যে দেখা দিয়েছে আতঙ্ক।

সোমবার (৮ জুলাই) বিকাল পর্যন্ত থেমে থেমে বিস্ফোরণের শব্দ শোনা গেছে।

টেকনাফ সদর ইউনিয়নের মৌলভীপাড়ার বাসিন্দা নুরুল আমিন বলেন, রাতভর গোলাগুলির বিকট শব্দ ভেসে এসেছে। এখনও থেমে থেমে শোনা যাচ্ছে বিস্ফোরণের শব্দ। এ সংঘাত কবে শেষ হবে জানি না।

তিনি আরও বলেন, গত রাতে নাফ নদের ওপারে মিয়ানমারের বিস্ফোরণের শব্দে বাড়িঘরে কম্পন সৃষ্টি হয়েছে। রাতে ঘুম নেই, মনে হয়েছে বাড়ির ওপরে পড়ছে এসব গুলি।

টেকনাফের উপজেলা নির্বাহী কর্মকর্তা (ইউএনও) আদনান চৌধুরী বলেন, নাফনদীর ওপাশ থেকে গোলাগুলির শব্দ ভেসে আসছে। আর আমাদের সীমান্তে বিজিবি ও কোস্টগার্ড সতর্ক অবস্থানে রয়েছে। এছাড়া কোনো রোহিঙ্গা যেনো অনুপ্রবেশ করতে না পারে সে বিষয়ে সীমান্তরক্ষী বাহিনীগুলো সতর্ক অবস্থানে রয়েছে।​

 

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PM Hasina seeks Chinese cooperation to repatriate Rohingyas

The Bangladesh prime minister said Rohingyas have taken shelter over six and a half years ago but no initiative has been taken yet to repatriate them to Myanmar

en.prothomalo.com

PM Hasina seeks Chinese cooperation to repatriate Rohingyas
BSS Beijing
Updated: 10 Jul 2024, 10: 03

A high-level Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a very important wing of the Chinese Communist Party led by its Chairman Wang Huning called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing on 9 July 2024BSS

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Tuesday called upon China to help Bangladesh repatriate the forcibly displaced Rohingyas to their homeland in Myanmar.

"Help in sending the Rohingya back to Myanmar," she was quoted as saying by Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud in a media briefing on her engagements on the second day of her visit to China.

The prime minister made the remarks when a high-level Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a very important wing of the Chinese Communist Party led by its Chairman Wang Huning, held a meeting with the Bangladesh prime minister at the Great Hall of the People in the morning.

During the meeting, different regional and bilateral issues, including the Rohingya crisis, reducing trade gap between Bangladesh and China, celebration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries in a meaningful way, measures to enhance their bilateral relations and contact between Bangladesh Awami League and Chinese Communist Party, were prominently and elaborately discussed.

The Bangladesh prime minister said Rohingyas have taken shelter over six and a half years ago but no initiative has been taken yet to repatriate them to Myanmar.

"This issue was discussed (during the meeting) with the highest importance," Hasan said.

The CPPCC chairman said they will discuss the matter with Myanmar and will play a role of facilitator between Bangladesh and Myanmar over the issue.

"We will give our best efforts to initiate Rohingya repatriation by holding discussions with Myanmar," Wang Hunning said.

Finance Minister A H Mahmood Ali, PM's press secretary M Nayeemul Islam Khan and Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) managing director and chief editor Abul Kalam Azad were present, among others, during the briefing.

A high-level Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a very important wing of the Chinese Communist Party led by its Chairman Wang Huning called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing on 9 July 2024BSS

Sheikh Hasina has stressed the need for reducing the trade gap between Bangladesh and China.

The prime minister said Bangladesh has imported huge goods from China while the list of export items is very small.

China can increase imports from Bangladesh to reduce the trade gap, she stated.

The prime minister also said China can import medicines, leather goods, jute products, vegetables and mango from Bangladesh.

While the CPPCC leaders said they will take measures to import quality goods from Bangladesh.

They also discussed in detail the existing relationship between the two countries and hoped to enhance the relations further, Hasan said.

In this regard, the prime minister said the relations between Bangladesh and China reached a new height and rooted in the deep at the initiative of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Bangabandhu made visits to China in 1952 and 1957, she said, adding that she herself visited China six times.

The prime minister thanked the Chinese government for helping in building some iconic projects that include the Padma Bride, Bangabandhu Tunnel and Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC).

Enhancing relations between Bangladesh Awami League and Chinese Communist Party have also been discussed during the meeting.

Sheikh Hasina, also president of governing Bangladesh Awami League, said that her party will send a high-level delegation to China.

She also invited the Chinese Communist Party leaders to visit Bangladesh.​

 

[Saif]

Myanmar responded positively in taking back Rohingyas: FM Hasan

Myanmar Foreign Minister Than Swe has responded positively to start repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland-Myanmar

www.thedailystar.net

Myanmar responded positively in taking back Rohingyas: FM Hasan

Photo: PID

Myanmar Foreign Minister Than Swe has responded positively to start repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland-Myanmar.
Myanmar's foreign minister expressed this positive approach during a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' Retreat in New Delhi, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today.

Hasan reminded his Myanmar counterpart of their previous discussions and said that Myanmar has been saying for a long time that they are willing to take back the Rohingya citizens who have been forcibly displaced from their country and have taken shelter in Bangladesh.

But no signs of its implementation have been observed yet, Hasan said during the meeting held yesterday.

He emphasised the issue by stating that only Myanmar can set a precedent to keep its promise when the repatriation process starts.

Myanmar's foreign minister responded positively and reiterated his country's intention to begin repatriation as soon as possible in consultation with his government, Hasan said.

Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.3 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char.

Meanwhile, on the last day of the retreat, the BIMSTEC foreign ministers had a courtesy call on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.​

 

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Bangladesh turns back fleeing Myanmar soldiers

Bangladesh stopped dozens of Myanmar security personnel from crossing into its territory to flee advancing rebel forces, a local government official based near their river border said Tuesday...

www.newagebd.net

Bangladesh turns back fleeing Myanmar soldiers
Agence France-Presse . Teknaf 17 July, 2024, 00:00

Bangladesh stopped dozens of Myanmar security personnel from crossing into its territory to flee advancing rebel forces, a local government official based near their river border said Tuesday.

Clashes have rocked Myanmar's western frontiers since the Arakan Army attacked security forces in November, ending a ceasefire that had largely held since the country's 2021 military coup.

Hundreds of Myanmar troops have taken refuge in India and Bangladesh since then, usually staying for days or weeks before being repatriated on junta-organised flights.

But on Sunday at least 66 members of Myanmar's Border Guard Police were sent back immediately while trying to cross the Naf river into Bangladesh.

'The Border Guard Police members wanted to enter Teknaf on two boats. The coast guard prevented their entry,' Mujibur Rahman, a councillor of Bangladesh's southeastern border town of Teknaf,

There was no immediate comment from either Bangladesh's coast guard or Myanmar junta representatives.

A Teknaf-based journalist who took photographs of the boats said the vessels came close to a pier in the town but were pushed back towards Myanmar later in the night.

'Some of them were not wearing any shirts,' he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Months of fierce fighting in Myanmar have seen steady advances by the Arakan Army in the western state of Rakhine, piling further pressure on the junta as it battles opponents elsewhere in the country.

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders last month announced it was halting all activities near the state's border with Bangladesh due to an 'extreme escalation of conflict' in the area.

Bangladesh has accepted more than 850 fleeing Myanmar soldiers this year, a senior government official told AFP on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

'We have already handed over 752 of them to Myanmar,' he said, adding around 100 border police and troops were waiting to be repatriated.

Bangladesh is home to around one million Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled Rakhine in 2017 after a military crackdown now the subject of a genocide investigation at a UN court.​

 

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thefinancialexpress.com.bd

সেন্টমার্টিনে ট্রলার লক্ষ্য করে মিয়ানমার থেকে গুলি
কক্সবাজার প্রতিনিধি
Published :
Jul 17, 2024 22:45
Updated :
Jul 17, 2024 22:45

মিয়ানমারের সংঘাতের কারণে সৃষ্ট পরিস্থিতিতে বাংলাদেশের অভ্যন্তরের বিকল্প নৌপথ ব্যবহার করে সেন্টমার্টিন থেকে টেকনাফে আসা দু'টি ট্রলারকে লক্ষ্য করে গুলি বর্ষণের ঘটনা ঘটেছে।

বুধবার (১৭ জুলাই) দুপুর ২টার দিকে টেকনাফের শাহপরীরদ্বীপ বদরমোকাম এলাকা অতিক্রমের সময় ট্রলার দু'টিকে লক্ষ্য করে গুলি বর্ষণ করা হয়েছে।

সেন্টমার্টিন সার্ভিস ট্রলার মালিক সমিতির সভাপতি আবদুর রশিদ এ তথ্য নিশ্চিত করেছেন।

তিনি জানান, দুপুর ১২টার দিকে সেন্টমার্টিন ঘাট থেকে ৭৫ জন যাত্রী নিয়ে টেকনাফের উদ্দেশ্যে যাত্রা দেয় এফবি নাইম ও এফবি রাশেদ নামের দুইটি ট্রলার। একসঙ্গে যাত্রা দেয়া ট্রলার দু'টি বিকল্প নৌপথ ব্যবহার করে বঙ্গোপসাগর অতিক্রম করে নাফনদীর মোহনায় প্রবেশ করছিল বেলা ২টার দিকে। এই সময় মিয়ানমারের অংশ থেকে একের পর এক গুলি বর্ষণ শুরু করা হয়। ট্রলার চালকরা কৌশলে ট্রলার চালিয়ে গেলেও টানা আধা ঘন্টা ধরে ট্রলার দুটিকে লক্ষ্য করে গুলি বর্ষণ করা হয়। এতে কোন যাত্রী হতাহত না হলেও ট্রলারে গুলি লেগেছে। আড়াইটার দিকে ট্রলার দু'টি নিরাপদে শাহপরীরদ্বীপের জেটিতে অবতরণের সুযোগ হয়েছে। ট্রলারগুলো পৌঁছানো পর্যন্ত ওপার থেকে টানা গুলি বর্ষণ করা হয়।

আবদুর রশিদ বলেন, মিয়ানমার থেকে দূরে বাংলাদেশের অভ্যন্তরের এলাকায় ট্রলার দু'টি চলাচল করছিল। এরপরও মিয়ানমার থেকে গুলি বর্ষণ করায় চালক সহ দ্বীপবাসীর মনে নতুন করে আতঙ্ক তৈরি হয়েছে।

কারা গুলি করেছে এমন প্রশ্নের উত্তরে তিনি বলেন, যতটুকু জানা গেছে মিয়ানমারের ওপারের অংশটি নাইক্ষ্যংদিয়া এলাকা আরাকান আর্মির নিয়ন্ত্রণে। এরাই গুলি করেছে।

টেকনাফ উপজেলা নির্বাহী কর্মকর্তা (ইউএনও) মো. আদনান চৌধুরী বলেন, মিয়ানমার থেকে সেন্টমার্টিনের দু'টি ট্রলারে আবারও গুলি বর্ষণের বিষয়টি জেনেছি। এ ব্যাপারে উধ্বর্তন মহলকে অবহিত করা হয়েছে। উধ্বর্তন মহলের সিদ্ধান্তের পর পরবর্তী ব্যবস্থা নেওয়া হবে।

এর আগে মিয়ানমারে চলমান সংঘাতের জেরে ১ জুন বিকালে টেকনাফ থেকে সেন্টমার্টিনের উদ্দেশে রওনা হওয়া পণ্যসহ ১০ যাত্রীর এক ট্রলারকে লক্ষ্য করে নাইক্ষ্যংদিয়া এলাকা থেকে গুলি বর্ষণ করা হয়। এছাড়া ৫ জুন সেন্টমার্টিনের স্থগিত হওয়া একটি কেন্দ্রে টেকনাফ উপজেলা পরিষদের ভাইস চেয়ারম্যান পদের ফলাফল নির্ধারণের জন্য ভোট গ্রহণ হয়। আনুষ্ঠানিকতা শেষে ফেরার পথে দায়িত্বরত ম্যাজিস্ট্রেটসহ নির্বাচন সংশ্লিষ্ট কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদের ট্রলারকে লক্ষ্য করে একই পয়েন্টে ফের গুলি করা হয়। ৮ জুন আরও এক ট্রলারকে লক্ষ্য করে গুলি করা হয় একই পয়েন্টে।

সর্বশেষ ১১ জুন একটি স্পিড বোটকে লক্ষ্য করে গুলিবর্ষণ হয়। প্রতিটি গুলিবর্ষণের ঘটনাই বাংলাদেশের অভ্যন্তরীণ জলসীমায় ঘটেছে। গুলিবর্ষণের এসব ঘটনায় হতাহত না হলেও নিরাপত্তার কথা বিবেচনা করে টেকনাফ-সেন্টমার্টিন রুটে নৌযান চলাচল বন্ধ হয়ে যায়। এতে দ্বীপে খাদ্য সংকট ও জরুরি আসা-যাওয়ার ক্ষেত্রে প্রতিবন্ধকতা তৈরি হয়।

১২ জুন কক্সবাজার জেলা প্রশাসনের জরুরি সভায় বঙ্গোপসাগরকে ব্যবহার করে যাত্রীদের আসা-যাওয়া ও পণ্য নিয়ে যাওয়ার সিদ্ধান্ত হয়। ১৩ জুন থেকে টেকনাফের সাবরাং মুন্ডার ডেইল উপকূল ব্যবহার করে শুরু হয় যাত্রীদের আসা-যাওয়া। ১৪ জুন কক্সবাজার শহর থেকে দ্বীপে পণ্য নিয়ে যায় জাহাজ। আর বিকল্প পথ হিসেবে শাহপরীরদ্বীপ ও সেন্টমার্টিনে সীমিত পরিসরে কিছু নৌযান চালানোর সিদ্ধান্ত হয়।

এরপর থেকে কিছু দিন পর পর বিকল্প নৌপথটি ব্যবহার করে সেন্টমার্টিনের আসা যাওয়া চলে আসছিল।

দুপুরের গুলিবর্ষণের ঘটনা নিয়ে বিজিবি ও কোস্টগার্ডের কোনো বক্তব্য পাওয়া যায়নি।​

 

[Saif]

Myanmar junta, ethnic group claim control of military regional HQ

Myanmar’s junta and an ethnic minority armed group both claimed on Thursday they were in control of a town and regional military command in northern Shan state following days of clashes...

www.newagebd.net

Myanmar junta, ethnic group claim control of military regional HQ
Agence France-Presse . Yangon 26 July, 2024, 00:07

Myanmar's junta and an ethnic minority armed group both claimed on Thursday they were in control of a town and regional military command in northern Shan state following days of clashes.

Fighting has rocked the town of Lashio, home to the military's northeastern command, since July 3 when an alliance of ethnic armed groups renewed an offensive against junta troops.

Local media run by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army reported the group 'fully captured the headquarters of the Northeast Military command in Lashio' on Thursday morning and also captured Lashio town, home to around 150,000 people.

MNDAA spokesman Li Jiawen said the group's fighters had captured Lashio, without giving further details.

But junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told reporters the claim was 'not true'.

'The insurgents infiltrated the outskirts of Lashio so (the security forces) have been following and clearing them,' he said, without giving details.

The northeastern command is located in the north of Lashio.

A video uploaded to social media with a caption saying it was shot in Lashio on Thursday morning showed deserted streets with no soldiers in sight.

AFP reporters geolocated the video to a site in the town around two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the command.

Northern Shan state has been rocked by fighting since late last month when an alliance of ethnic armed groups renewed an offensive against the military along the highway to China's Yunnan province.

The clashes have shredded a Beijing-brokered truce that in January halted a campaign by the alliance of the Arakan Army (AA), the Ta'ang National Liberation Army and the MNDAA.

The military has carried out several air strikes around the town during the fighting, according to residents.

Dozens of civilians have been killed or wounded in the recent fighting, according to the junta and local rescue groups.

Neither the junta nor the ethnic alliance have released figures on their own casualties.

Indonesia's foreign minister on Thursday slammed the junta's unwillingness to engage with a regional peace plan to resolve the conflict, speaking after meeting her Singaporean counterpart on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers meeting in Laos.

Both Singapore and Indonesia have been critical of the junta's power grab, which has divided the 10-member ASEAN bloc.

Myanmar's borderlands are home to myriad ethnic armed groups who have battled the military since independence from Britain in 1948 for autonomy and control of lucrative resources.

Some have given shelter and training to newer 'People's Defence Forces' (PDFs) that have sprung up to battle the military after the coup in 2021.

China is a major ally and arms supplier to the junta, but analysts say it also maintains ties with armed ethnic groups in Myanmar that hold territory near its border.

Beijing was 'paying close attention to the situation in northern Myanmar' and urged a halt to the fighting, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a press conference on Thursday.

It had also urged relevant parties 'to not endanger the safety of China's borders and border residents, as well as Chinese projects, firms, and personnel in Myanmar', she said.

Three people had been killed and 10 wounded in military air strikes on the MNDAA-held city of Laukkai on the border with China this week, MNDAA's Li Jiawen said, adding that the wounded included three Chinese nationals.

The armed group captured Laukkai in January after around 2,000 junta troops surrendered, in one of the military's biggest single defeats in decades.​

 

[Saif]

ASEAN iterates concern over Myanmar conflicts

A joint communique released by ASEAN on Saturday expressed the bloc’s ‘deep concern over the escalation of conflicts’ in member-state Myanmar...

www.newagebd.net

ASEAN iterates concern over Myanmar conflicts
Agence France-Presse . Vientiane 28 July, 2024, 00:38

A joint communique released by ASEAN on Saturday expressed the bloc's 'deep concern over the escalation of conflicts' in member-state Myanmar.

The country has been ravaged by violence since the military seized power in 2021, sparking renewed fighting with established ethnic minority armed groups and dozens of newer 'People's Defence Forces'.

ASEAN has spearheaded so far unsuccessful diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, with a five-point peace plan agreed between the junta and the bloc now moribund.

The five-point consensus 'remains our main reference to address the political crisis,' the joint communique said.

Myanmar's junta has been banned from high-level ASEAN summits over its coup and crackdown on dissent, in which rights groups say it may have committed war crimes.

Two senior bureaucrats represented Myanmar at the Laos talks.

The military's readiness to re-engage with ASEAN diplomatically was a 'sign of the junta's weakened position', a Southeast Asian diplomat told AFP earlier this week.

Australia's foreign minister on Saturday called on Myanmar's junta to 'take a different path' from its bloody crackdown on dissent, saying the situation in the war-torn country is 'not sustainable'.

Penny Wong made the comments at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers meeting, where the crisis in ASEAN member Myanmar has divided the bloc.

The country was plunged into a civil war after the military seized power in a coup in 2021.

Weeks after it seized power and launched a crackdown on dissent the junta agreed to a five-point peace plan with ASEAN but has failed to implement it.

'Myanmar is deeply concerning, we see it in the economy, instability, insecurity, deaths,' Wong told journalists at a press conference.

'The message I want to send to the military regime is 'this is not sustainable for you and your people'.'

'We urge them to take a different path and reflect the five-point consensus.'

The junta has been barred from high-level ASEAN meetings over its crackdown on dissent.

It had previously refused to send 'non-political representatives' but two senior bureaucrats are representing the country at the talks in Vientiane.

A Southeast Asian diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity earlier this week that the military's readiness to re-engage diplomatically was a sign of its 'weakened position'.

In recent weeks ethnic minority armed groups have renewed an offensive against the military in northern Shan state, seizing territory along a vital highway to China.

Myanmar's generals have yet to make any meaningful counterattack following a previous offensive by ethnic armed groups in October that seized swaths of territory along the border with China.

The losses triggered rare public criticism of its top leadership.

ASEAN has spearheaded diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis but with little success.

Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have called for tougher action against the junta, while Thailand has held its own bilateral talks with the generals as well as detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The conflict in Myanmar has forced 2.7 million people from their homes since the coup in 2021, according to the United Nations.​

 

[Saif]

Bullets from other side of border hit houses in Teknaf

en.prothomalo.com

Bullets from other side of border hit houses in Teknaf
Staff Correspondent &
Correspondent Cox's Bazar and Teknaf
Updated: 29 Jul 2024, 13: 05

The photo shows the Teknaf border in Cox's Bazar.File photo

Bullets fired from Myanmar have created panic among the people living along the bordering areas of Teknaf, Cox's Bazar amid the intense conflict on the other side of the border.

Intense firings and explosions of mortar shells have taken place in the border area of Mongdu of Rakhine state since early Saturday.

At least 188 mortar shells exploded in the last 28 hours till 8:00am on Sunday.

Added to this were bullets fired from Myanmar hitting houses in several bordering villages, leaving the people in a state of fear. However, no causality was reported.

The Mongdu township is opposite Teknaf's Sadar and Subrang unions, and Naf river, which is four kilometres wide, separates Bangladesh from Myanmar. Fight has been on between the pro-independence armed group Arakan Army (AA) and the junta forces over the last five months.

According to Sadar union parishad chairman Ziaur Rahman and Subrang union parishad chairman Nur Hossain, mortar shells and grenades exploded all of a sudden around 4:00am on Saturday after a break of five days. Sound of explosions was heard from 10-12 bordering villages intermittently until 8:00am on Sunday with bullets fired from rifles in Myanmar landing in this side of the border, causing a rise in panic among people.

Four bullets from Myanmar fell in Shah Parir Diwip of Subrang union on 21 July. Two of those bullets landed in front of the shop owned by certain Hossain Ali in the Jetty Ghat area, once in the houseyard of certain Mohamamd Idris in Bazarpara area and the remaining one fell on the pillar of the homestead of Mohammad Ayas in Bazarpara.

Mohamamd Idris and Mohammad Ayas said two bullets fell between 8:00am and 8:30am, and had anyone been on the spot, they might have been hurt. People are afraid of coming out of their homes fearing more bullets.

Amir Hossain, 55, is a fisherman from Jaliapara of Shah Parir Diwip. He said at least 500 fishermen from this area cannot fish in Naf river. There is no alternative income source either. Meanwhile, the fight is intensifying in Rakhine. People from the fishing village are worried about what they will do if the situation does not improve. According to these chairmen, bullets mostly fell on the Bangladesh side of Naf river, nearby shrimp enclosures and mangrove forests.

Four bullets also fell in Mistrypara area of Shah Parir Diwip on Saturday. On information, members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) came to the spot and recovered the bullet shells.

Saying that people cannot move freely, Subrang union parishad member Abdus Salam added, "We live near in the bordering area and we are passing time in a constant state of fear. Everything can be seen from this side of the border. Till today, people were frightened of the sound of explosions, and bullets from other sider have become a new fear now."

Prothom Alo could not reach BGB Teknaf-2 battalion commander and Coast Guard's Teknaf station commander for comment after several attempts. Officials of both agencies have been reluctant to talk to media about the border situation since the beginning.

However, Teknaf upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) Adnan Chowdhury confirmed the bullets crossing over the border. He said he learned that bullets fired from Myanmar fell in several places of Shah Parir Diwip. Explosions also took place in Rakhine state. Each village along the Teknaf border has been brought under special monitoring. Besides, people are being alerted about safety, he added.​

 

[Saif]

Junta extends state of emergency by six months in Myanmar

Myanmar’s junta extended the state of emergency by six months on Wednesday, delaying fresh polls it has promised to hold as it battles opposition to its coup.

www.newagebd.net

Junta extends state of emergency by six months in Myanmar
Agence France-Presse . Yangon 31 July, 2024, 18:26

This photo taken on July 3, 2024 shows members of ethnic minority armed group Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) preparing their weapons amid clashes with Myanmar's military in Kyaukme in Myanmar's northern Shan State. | AFP photo

Myanmar's junta extended the state of emergency by six months on Wednesday, delaying fresh polls it has promised to hold as it battles opposition to its coup.

The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the February 2021 coup which ended a 10-year experiment with democracy and sparked mass protests and a crackdown on dissent.

Three years and a half years later, the junta is struggling to crush widespread armed opposition and recently suffered a series of stunning losses to an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups.

The junta had been unable to hold fresh polls as planned following an initial two-year state of emergency 'due to the terrorist acts' by its opponents, broadcaster MRTV reported.

All the members of the junta-stacked National Defence and Security Council 'unanimously decided to extend the period of the state of emergency for another six months,' MRTV said.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing had proposed the extension 'in order to prepare valid and accurate ballots' for the election the junta has promised to hold, possibly in 2025.

The extension was also needed to 'carry out the population census and in order to continue the implementation of the work to be done,' MRTV said.

Under the military-drafted 2008 constitution, which the junta has said is still in force, authorities are required to hold fresh elections within six months of a state of emergency being lifted.

The military seized power after making unsubstantiated allegations of fraud in the 2020 elections which Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide.

It has extended the state of emergency multiple times since as it battles established ethnic minority armed groups and newer pro-democracy 'People's Defence Forces'.

In recent months it has suffered a string of battlefield defeats to an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups in the north and west of the country.

Last week the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) claimed it had seized the northern town of Lashio, which sits on a vital trade highway to China and is home to the military's northeastern command.

The junta denied the claim.

The loss of Lashio and the regional military command would be a huge blow to the junta, which has lost territory to the MNDAA and other armed groups in recent weeks.

In January the MNDAA captured the city of Laukkai near Myanmar's border with China after around 2,000 junta troops surrendered, in one of the military's biggest defeats in decades.

Since the coup fighting between the military and its opponents has forced 2.7 million people to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.

More than 5,400 people have been killed and 27,000 arrested in the junta's crackdown on dissent since the coup, according to a local monitoring group.

The junta has said it will hold fresh elections in 2025.

But critics say the proposed polls will be neither free nor fair.

Last year the junta-stacked election commission announced that Suu Kyi's NLD would be dissolved for failing to re-register under a tough new military-drafted electoral law.​

 

[Saif]

9 Rohingya die after boat capsizes near Teknaf

The dead bodies of nine Rohingya, including three children, have been recovered from the coast of Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf Upazila. As many as 22 others have been reported missing over the incident. According to public representatives, the victims were trying to enter Bangladesh territory

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

9 Rohingya die after boat capsizes near Teknaf
bdnews24.com
Published :
Aug 06, 2024 22:41
Updated :
Aug 06, 2024 22:41

The dead bodies of nine Rohingya, including three children, have been recovered from the coast of Cox's Bazar's Teknaf Upazila. As many as 22 others have been reported missing over the incident.

According to public representatives, the victims were trying to enter Bangladesh territory by sea from Myanmar, according to bdnews24.com.

Md Adnan Chowdhury, the chief executive officer of Teknaf, said that the boat carrying the Rohingya capsized in the sea near Habirchhara and Rajarchhara point areas of Teknaf Sadar Union on Tuesday.

Of the bodies recovered from the coast, three are children, four women and two men. He also said that two people were rescued alive following the incident.

However, the officials have yet to identify the victims.

Abdur Rashid, a member of Ward no 1 of Teknaf Sadar Union, told bdnews24.com that a boat carrying 31 Rohingya capsized while trying to flee Myanmar's Rakhine State. They were on their way to Bangladesh to escape the conflict raging in Myanmar.

Although a few of them managed to swim ashore, several passengers of the boat drowned in the sea. The bodies of nine people were recovered with the help of the locals on Tuesday. At least 22 of them are still missing.

According to Abdur Rashid, preparations are underway to hand over the dead bodies to the families of the victims in various Rohingya shelters located in Teknaf, which are under the Upazila administration.

Adnan Chowdhury said legal action is being taken over the incident.

He also added that a few of the Rohingya men were detained while they tried to infiltrate the borders. They are currently in the custody of the BGB.​

 

[Saif]

13 more Myanmar citizens take shelter in Bangladesh

Amid a conflict between the Myanmar military and the armed rebel group in Myanmar’s Rakhine, 13 more members of the country's Border Guard Police (BGP) took shelter in Bangladesh on Wednesday morning

en.prothomalo.com

13 more Myanmar citizens take shelter in Bangladesh
UNBCox's Bazar
Published: 15 Aug 2024, 09: 39

13 more members of the country's Border Guard Police (BGP) took shelter in Bangladesh on Wednesday morning UNB

Amid a conflict between the Myanmar military and the armed rebel group in Myanmar’s Rakhine, 13 more members of the country's Border Guard Police (BGP) took shelter in Bangladesh on Wednesday morning.

So far, a total of 123 BGP members have taken refuge in Bangladesh, said Teknaf-2 BGB Commander Lieutenant Colonel Mohiuddin Ahmed.

Colonel Mohiuddin said the BGP members infiltrated through the Sabrang border on Wednesday morning due to internal conflict in Myanmar.

Later, they surrendered to the BGB with a pistol and 25 rounds of ammunition.

The process of repatriation has started and they will be sent back soon, he added​

 

[Saif]

UN fears repeat of 2017 atrocities against Rohingyas

The United Nations said on Friday it fears a repeat of the 2017 atrocities committed against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, warning a human tragedy was...

www.newagebd.net

UN fears repeat of 2017 atrocities against Rohingyas
Agence France-Presse . Geneva 23 August, 2024, 21:23

Volker Türk. | File photo.

The United Nations said on Friday it fears a repeat of the 2017 atrocities committed against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, warning a human tragedy was unfolding in Rakhine State.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk voiced grave alarm about the sharply deteriorating situation across Myanmar, particularly in Rakhine where, he said, hundreds of civilians have reportedly been killed while trying to flee fighting.

Clashes have rocked Rakhine since the rebel Arakan Army attacked forces of Myanmar’s ruling junta in November, ending a ceasefire that had largely held since a military coup in 2021.

The AA says it is fighting for more autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine population in the state, which is also home to around 6,00,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim minority.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Rakhine in 2017 during a crackdown by the military that is now the subject of a United Nations genocide court case.

‘Thousands of Rohingya have been forced to flee on foot, with the Arakan Army herding them repeatedly into locations that offer scant safe haven,’ Turk said in a statement.

‘As the border crossings to Bangladesh remain closed, members of the Rohingya community are finding themselves trapped between the military and its allies and the Arakan Army, with no path to safety.’

Bangladesh is now home to around one million Rohingya refugees.

‘This month marks seven years since the military operations which drove 7,00,000 across the border into Bangladesh. Despite the world saying ‘never again’, we are once more witnessing killings, destruction and displacement in Rakhine,’ said Turk.

The UN high commissioner for human rights said parties to the armed conflict were denying responsibility for attacks against the Rohingya, which ‘stretches the bounds of credulity’, he said.

The UN Human Rights Office said that according to its information, the military and the Arakan Army have both committed serious human rights violations and abuses against the Rohingya.

These include extrajudicial killings, some involving beheadings, abductions, forced recruitment, indiscriminate bombardments of towns and villages, and arson attacks.

‘Both the military and the Arakan Army bear direct responsibility for the human tragedy that is unfolding in Rakhine,’ said Turk.

‘These atrocities demand an unequivocal response: those responsible must be held accountable, and justice must be pursued relentlessly.

‘Recurrence of the crimes and horrors of the past must be prevented as a moral duty and a legal necessity.’

Turk called on both parties to cease attacks on civilians and urged ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to take all necessary measures to protect the Rohingya.​

 

[Saif]

Rohingyas to observe ‘Genocide Remembrance Day’

The displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar, who are now sheltered in Bangladesh, will observe “Genocide Remembrance Day” today.

www.thedailystar.net

Rohingyas to observe ‘Genocide Remembrance Day’

Reuters file photo

The displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar, who are now sheltered in Bangladesh, will observe "Genocide Remembrance Day" today.

Around a million Rohingya people fled ethnic cleansing by the Myanmar junta troops to take refuge in Bangladesh following military crackdown in Rakhine State on August 25, 2017.

Since then, they have been living in camps of Ukhiya and Teknaf of Cox's Bazar.

Meanwhile, no less than 20,000 Rohingyas crossed Naf river and entered Bangladesh to take shelter in the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar in a fresh exodus amid violent clashes between Arakan Army and Myanmar troops since August 4-5 this year, said Rohingya leaders at the camps.

Kamal Hossain, chairman of the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar National Representative Committee, termed the recent attacks on the community as the second wave of genocide.

"Over 20,000 Rohingays have come to Bangladesh after the Arakan Army launched brutal attacks on the community recently. They are now living at the camps in Cox's Bazar with their relatives or acquaintances. The previously sheltered Rohingyas are sharing food with the newcomers despite suffering from shortage due to limited rations," he said.

However, government officials have no specific data about the number of new arrivals.

Contacted, Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, said they have no specific data on how many new Rohingyas have come to the camps recently when Bangladesh was facing a troubled situation.

At present, Bangladesh's stance is not to allow any more Rohingyas in the country, Mizanur said. However, he said they are contacting their high-ups to arrange food for the new arrivals on humanitarian ground.

Rashida Begum, a Rohingya woman who arrived on August 8, said she and her family members had taken shelter at a relative's house in Rakhine's Maungdaw Township for 15 days before entering Bangladesh.

The Arakan Army had tried to stop them from leaving the country to use them as human shields, she added.

Meanwhile, at least 100 bodies of Rohingyas were recovered from river bank and sea coast in Teknaf and were later buried on different graveyards and other areas on the shore stretching from Lada to Shahporir Dwip between August 4 and August 21.

They were assumed to have died after their boats capsized on the way to Teknaf.

Confirming the matter, Adnan Chowdhury, UNO of Teknaf, said, "As far as I know, over 100 bodies were recovered and buried by locals and Rohingyas on different shores."

Khin Maung Thein, a Rohingya human rights activist, said he along with Rohingya volunteers had arranged for burial of 20 bodies of Rohingya people, including one of a pregnant woman.

"The bodies bore numerous injury marks. Some had amputated legs," he added.​

 

[Saif]

No fresh move in sight for Rohingya return

No fresh initiative has been taken by the interim government for Rohingya repatriation, as Bangladesh could not send back even a single person from the over 12 lakh displaced people in...

www.newagebd.net

No fresh move in sight for Rohingya return
Mustafizur Rahman with Tarekur Rahman in Cox’s Bazar 25 August, 2024, 00:06

No fresh initiative has been taken by the interim government for Rohingya repatriation, as Bangladesh could not send back even a single person from the over 12 lakh displaced people in Myanmar to their homeland in the past seven years since the latest influx began in 2017.

The moves initiated by the previous government to repatriate the persecuted Rohingyas to the Rakhine State of Myanmar, facing a civil war situation for around three years, did not bear any outcome, according to officials.

The foreign ministry’s Myanmar wing director general, Ferdousi Shahriar, said that there had been no progress so far in the return of Rohingyas, sheltered in Bangladesh camps as a China-backed project to repatriate some 1,000 Rohingyas on a pilot basis remained stalled for months.

She said that they did not get any fresh instructions on the issue from the interim government, which was formed on August 8 with professor Mohammad Yunus as chief adviser following the August 5 fall of Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India amid a student-led mass uprising, ending her 15-year-long regime.

‘We are expecting fresh directives exclusively to look into the issue of Rohingya repatriation following the changeover in the government,’ Ferdousi told New Age on Saturday.

She said that the joint efforts for the Rohingya repatriation could not make any headway as there was a civil war situation in Myanmar, which made the conditions not favourable for their return to the Rakhine State.

The overthrown government of the Awami League has blamed on several occasions both international communities, including the United Nations Refugee Agency and Myanmar’s military regime, for its failure to return Rohingya people from Bangladesh after the large-scale exodus that began on this day in 2017 amid a military crackdown in Rakhine State.

The United Nations said on Friday it feared a repeat of the 2017 atrocities committed against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, warning of an unfolding human tragedy in Rakhine State, the Agence France-Presse reported from Geneva.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk voiced grave alarm about the sharply deteriorating situation across Myanmar, particularly in Rakhine, where he said hundreds of civilians had reportedly been killed while trying to flee fighting.

Clashes have rocked Rakhine since the rebel Arakan Army attacked forces of Myanmar’s ruling junta in November, ending a ceasefire that had largely held since a military coup in 2021, according to the AFP report published on Friday.

Although international communities, including UN organisations, assured time and again that they would facilitate the return of the forcibly displaced people by creating a congenial atmosphere in Myanmar, not a single Rohingya could be sent back home since the signing of instruments between Bangladesh and Myanmar in 2018 for repatriation.

Bangladesh has also sought the cooperation of China and Japan, among others, to expedite the repatriation process, as they have leverage over Myanmar.

Officials said that the number of Rohingya people has already crossed 12 lakh following the latest exodus of over seven lakh persecuted Myanmar nationals who fled a military crackdown in Rakhine State to Bangladesh for shelter.

Rohingya community leader Mohammed Syed, who has been residing in a camp at Ukhia in Cox’s Bazar for around seven years, said that they did not like to live the confined life anymore and wanted to return voluntarily to their homeland without further delay on the assurance that their rights as citizens would be fulfilled.

‘We have been living here for a long time, but we cannot forget our motherland. If we even remain unfed in Myanmar, we feel we will have freedom there,’ he told New Age.

Hamid Hossain, another Rohingya leader at Kutupalang in Ukhia, expressed uncertainty about the fate of the move for their return as the population of their community was increasing every year.

‘We don’t know whether such a big Rohingya community would be able to return to their homeland by realising our demands. But we want to return to our country of birth. Our future is uncertain here,’ he added.

At least two attempts to start the repatriation of the displaced Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar failed, as they refused to return home without a guarantee of their citizenship and security.

Rohingyas observe this day with various programmes including discussion meetings, rallies, and prayer sessions for their relatives killed during the Myanmar military crackdown on this day and later on.​

 

[Saif]

World should act to stop repeat of 2017 Rohingya atrocities

UN FEARS for a likely repeat of the 2017 atrocities that Myanmar’s security forces committed against the Rohingyas in Rakhine State against the background of an unfolding tragedy now brings to the fore a couple of issues for the global forum itself and the world community to seriously consider...

www.newagebd.net

World should act to stop repeat of 2017 Rohingya atrocities
25 August, 2024, 00:00

UN FEARS for a likely repeat of the 2017 atrocities that Myanmar’s security forces committed against the Rohingyas in Rakhine State against the background of an unfolding tragedy now brings to the fore a couple of issues for the global forum itself and the world community to seriously consider. The UN human rights chief has voiced grave alarm about a sharply deteriorating situation across Myanmar, especially in Rakhine State, which is home to about 600,000 Rohingya people, where hundreds of civilians are reported to have been killed when they tried to flee fighting. The situation has exacerbated into clashes in Rakhine since the Arakan Army attacked forces of Myanmar’s ruling junta in November 2023, ending a ceasefire that had largely been held since a military coup in 2021. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas fled Rakhine in 2017 during a military crackdown, now the subject of a UN genocide court case. As the border crossings to Bangladesh remain closed, the Rohingyas find themselves trapped between the Myanmar military and its allies and the Arkan Army with no path to safety. The proposition is bad for the Rohingyas, about 700,000 of whom entered Bangladesh where the Rohingya population in shelters is more than one million.

This is also bad for the world community, which earlier said ‘never again’ but now appears to be failing again as killings, destruction and displacement are witnessed once again in Rakhine. Parties to the armed conflict in Rakhine, as the UN high commissioner for human rights says, are denying responsibility for attacks against the Rohingyas which ‘stretches the bounds of cruelty.’ Such a situation is also bad for Bangladesh, where more than a million of the Rohingyas have lived in shelters and camps, with no past to fall back on and no future to look forward to. And, none of the Rohingyas could be repatriated to Rakhine State since August 2017 despite some efforts that petered out mostly because of Myanmar’s unwillingness and continued efforts that have created a fearful situation there to stop the Rohingyas from willingly returning. The United Nations, which earlier likened Myanmar’s persecution of the Rohingyas to ‘a textbook example of ethnic cleansing,’ has, along with the international community, therefore, a role to play in preventing the deplorable situation that it fears in Rakhine State again especially now that it has already sensed what could be in store. The recurrence of the crimes and horrors that happened to the Rohingyas in the past should be prevented as a moral duty and legal necessity of the world community.

Whilst the world community should act to stop a repeat of the atrocities that Myanmar committed against the Rohingyas in 2017 and step up efforts on international forums for the repatriation of the Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh, Bangladesh authorities must redouble its efforts bilaterally, regionally and internationally for a resolution of the deteriorating situation in Rakhine State and the repatriation of the Rohingyas. Bangladesh authorities must also remain alert to any such efforts, perhaps by the adversaries, to create instability in the politically changed context of Bangladesh.​